My strength, my weakness
by manzanita
Summary: Danny has been learning more about himself and his powers lately with Jazz's help. But his parents have been learning more about the Ghost Boy, and Valerie has been learning more about being a ghost hunter. AU after Reality trip.
1. Chapter 1

"What's that Jazz?" Asked Danny as he entered the room.

"Hmm? Oh this?" She said as she looked up from the computer. "It's the data I've been collecting on your powers and transformation. I've been trying to understand how they work."

"Any luck?"

"Actually, yes. It all has to do with how you got your powers in the first place."

"I know how I got them." Said Danny as he leaned over Jazz to steal a handful of her corn chips. "I turned the portal on while I was inside and it messed up my genes and now I'm half alive and half ghost."

"No it didn't affect your genes, ghosts don't _have_ DNA, they're made up of energy fields instead of matter. So is almost everything in the Ghost Zone. And I'm pretty sure you're entirely alive."

"What?"

"You're able to exist as matter and as a living energy field more or less at the same time. When you 'go ghost' you change some of your body's matter into energy so you become more energy than matter, somehow this makes it easier for you to use your powers."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know. You break the laws of physics just existing let alone when you change. But it does explain why you do better fighting ghosts when Sam, Tucker, or I are with you. And stop eating my chips!"

"Why?"

"Because you can go get your own chips."

"Not the chips Jazz. Why do I fight better when you're around?"

"Ghosts need energy to exist just like humans do but they don't get it from eating, instead they absorb the ambient energy around them."

"So _that's_ why it feels cold when a ghost is around."

"Exactly Danny. The ghost zone has very high levels of ambient energy, this side of the portal doesn't so ghosts tend to weaken if they stay here to long. But some ghosts, especially the powerful ones, can use the energy produced by human emotions. Most of them use the 'frequency' produced by negative emotions."

"So they feed off of fear and pain." Said Danny looking a little sick.

"Yes, but you're different, you feed on_ positive _emotions. You even get some energy from your _own_ emotions; God only knows how _that_ works. So when you're around people you care about and who care about you, you get stronger. You seem to get the biggest boost from emotions directed at you but you get a small boost anytime you're around people who are happy."

"So my family and friends really _are_ my strength."

"More than that Danny, if you were ever completely isolated from everyone you cared about you would basically starve to death. Or, go insane."

"Isn't that a cheerful thought." Said Danny sarcastically. "Though I guess that kinda explains the evil me. Wait, if it didn't affect my DNA would it, I mean someday if I have a kid?"

"Well it can't be inherited in the normal sense but your powers _are_ a part of you now and I can't say for sure if you could or couldn't pass them on. But I do think either all of your descendents will have your powers or none of them will."

"So I'll need to find a phase proof crib?"

"Very funny Danny." Jazz rolled her eyes, Danny just grinned.

"Actually, the sheer amount of energy your powers use means that even if someone was born with them it would be years before they could use them."

"But I could use mine right away." Said Danny.

"You were 'charged' by the accident that changed you."

"Charged?"

"Maybe I should say 'powered up' when you turned on the portal the whole town had a brownout."

"That's, that's a lot of electricity."

"And that's only part of it." Said Jazz. "If I'm reading Mom's notes right, the portal draws power from the ghost zone as well. And there's a massive power surge when it activates although it stabilizes after a few minuets. I don't know how you did it but you absorbed some of the energy you were exposed to, this is what permanently changed you."

"That's, a little disturbing. Do you know why I use positive emotions?"

"I'm not sure. But I think it was because of the first people you saw afterwards."

"Sam and Tucker?"

"Yes, What was their first reaction when you came out of the portal?"

"More like fell out." He muttered." Well they were worried about me. Especially after I fell _through_ Sam's hands when she tried to help me up."

"It looks like they're at least partly responsible for you being the heroic Phantom instead of a second Vlad. You see, the energy in the ghost zone is pretty much neutral but the first emotional energy you were exposed to afterwards was of two people worried about you. **Caring** about you."

"Hmm, do you think Vlad uses negative emotions?"

"I positive he does. He _likes_ it when people fear him. But Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"You could 'reset' the frequency of emotions you use. The evil version of you proves that."

"Thanks Jazz, I **really** needed something else to have nightmares about."

"Sorry Danny, but I think it would take a major shock to do it and I think on some level you would have to _want_ it."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better."

"Well here's something else to think about, if you could change the frequency you use, so could Vlad."

>

>

This story began with me wondering how Lunchbox was possible and became a discussion between Danny and Jazz about the source of his powers and how he could have turned evil.  
No, I don't understand how my mind works either.


	2. Chapter 2

It was one of the worst disasters in Amity Park's history. Perhaps the worst non-ghost related disaster ever. And yet it was a freak accident, there was no one at fault, no one to blame. No villain or attack, just an undetected gas leak in an older building that left rubble and spreading fires behind.

Fortunately the frequent ghost attacks had taught the city to be ready for anything and the firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency crews arrived at the scene almost as soon as the sound of the blast died. Their quick response saved many lives but many more would have been lost if not for the actions of one person.

No one was sure when he arrived, he was just there pulling people out of unstable debris, people no one could get to. The rescue workers didn't waste time questioning why the town's most infamous ghost was helping them, he was saving lives and that was all that mattered.

Hours later when the worst of the fires were contained they began allowing volunteers into the safer areas to help. When Jack and Maddie Fenton arrived at least three people took them aside and explained that 'Invisobill' was not a threat and shouldn't be attacked or interfered with. And anyone who disagreed would be asked to leave. It wasn't long before Jack found himself working alongside the ghost as he helped clear rubble and give firefighters a clear path to one of the remaining hotspots.

Amity Park was full of heroes that night; their brave and selfless actions saved many lives. And the swarming news crews did their best to catch it all on camera. By the next day the entire country had seen the most spectacular rescue of the night. As firefighters battled a blazing house and police held a man back while he screamed for his daughter, a white-haired boy flew through the wall carrying an awkward bundle. As soon as he got past the line of firefighters he landed and laid the bundle on the ground. It was a small child! The ghost boy began CPR but she still wasn't breathing when the paramedics took over. News cameras zoomed in as he hovered nearby and camera crews were startled to see tears running down his face, and when the little girl finaly gasped and began crying weakly he looked like someone who had witnessed a miracle. Her father ran to her and a paramedic held an oxygen mask to her face. The ghost smiled brilliantly, though tears still traced their way down his cheeks.

It was nearing dawn when an EMT found the phantom leaning against the side of an ambulance looking exhausted.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He answered as he straightened up before a flicker of light appeared around his waist. He closed his eyes for a moment and clenched his fists and the light disappeared but he looked even worse than before.

"I don't know what that was but I think you need to go."

"What?"

"Look, nobody has been here as long as you, if you can eat than go and eat something. If you sleep than go to bed, you've done enough for tonight. Now go on before you pass out and someone trips over you."

He smiled, touched by her concern as he drifted up into the air and vanished. As she watched him go she realized how young he looked and how amazed he seemed that anyone would worry about him.

Not long afterwards a pale and exhausted Danny Fenton walked in his house. Jazz met him at the front door and handed him a mug of hot cocoa before he could say a word. He was asleep on the couch before he finished it.

When Jack and Maddie got home they found Jazz half asleep on the couch with Danny slumped against her shoulder. Only taking the time to change out of their sweaty and stained jumpsuits they joined their kids on the couch. It was crowded but right now they all needed the comfort, contact, and reassurance. As all four Fentons dozed off, the TV flickered with scenes of despair and desperate heroics. The only other sound was Maddie as she watched a familiar and dramatic rescue replay once again.

"I never dreamed a ghost could cry."

I don't know where this one came from either, or why the first one was almost all dialog and this one has hardly any. I should have titled this 'When Plunnies Attack." Unlike usual, I have no outline or plan I just sit down and write.

P.S. I'm sorry for falling off the face of the planet, I put an explanation why on my profile page. In short it's been a REALLY bad couple of months, so bad that when my car was stolen my first reaction was to laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

I always forget to do the disclamer so...

Disclamer, this is a work of fanfiction. I do not own or claim to own anything in this. It is merely a tribute to somenone else's work.

Jazz was surprised the first time Sam came over when Danny wasn't home. But once Tucker and Sam got used to Jazz knowing Danny's secret it became an almost weekly ritual. While Tucker and Danny were somewhere else (the arcade, drooling over hot cars, dreaming about cute girls) the two girls discussed everything from school to ways to deal with possibly (definitely) insane family members. But most of the time they ended up talking about Danny, Today was no exception.

"How did you get these readings on other ghosts?"

"I bribed the Box Ghost."

"With what?" Said Sam.

"Twelve brand new boxes from U-Haul and a roll of bubble wrap."

Sam stared at Jazz for a moment before she began laughing.

"He's really easy to deal with for a ghost," Said Jazz. "Give him some boxes or crates and he'll usually cooperate."

Sam almost choked before getting her laughter under control and asking, "So what are you going to do with this information?"

"Well I adapted some of my parents ghost detectors to give me readings on the frequency and kind of energy they produce as well as the strength and location."

"And?"

"And I've found that Danny and Vlad don't give off the same kind of energy as ghosts do. It's similar but it's not exactly the same. Also Danny gives off a different frequency than Vlad."

"And this means what?"

"I think I can adapt all of my parents detectors to ignore Danny and I might be able to make the Ghost Shield less painful for him. Other than that, I don't know yet. But I do know that Danny has at least one natural advantage over most ghosts. It seems that the energy absorbed from positive emotions doesn't fade as fast as the energy from negative emotions, so he should have more endurance than most ghosts."

"Okay, that makes sense. But why is he still so scrawny? I know he's much stronger as Phantom than he used to be but he's still kind of a wimp as Fenton."

"Two reasons, one there isn't much matter in his body when he's Phantom. He's mostly energy fields and his form is controlled by his mind, it's not exactly telekinesis but it seems to be similar."

"So he's using his mind, not his muscles? No wonder he had such a hard time the first few months. What's the other reason?"

"His powers use a _lot_ of energy, and the ambient energy and emotional energy he absorbs and the energy he gets from food isn't quite enough sometimes. He's like someone who is getting just barely enough food. I'm afraid his growth may be stunted if this doesn't change soon."

"Oh." Said Sam. "Wait a minute, you said there isn't much matter in his body when he goes ghost so what is he?"

"Well there's some matter in his body when he goes ghost but his body is mostly focused energy fields and a kind of ectoplasm. For some reason this gives him greater control over all his powers and lets him access some of his powers that he either can't use or can't control when he's human. Also he's able to absorb ambient energy much more efficiently."

"Is that why he's cold when he's a ghost?"

"Well I don't think his body temperature changes much between forms but since he's effectively absorbing the heat around him it seems like he's ice cold."

"That's why he doesn't notice it! Tucker and I were teasing Danny about it one day and he hadn't realized that he turned cold but he had noticed that anything he held started to cool down after a while."

Jazz laughed and said, "Yes my brother can be clueless at times."

"He is getting better, at least at recognizing when someone is honestly nice to him and when they're just using him."

"Oh, so he quit drooling over Paullina?"

"Finally he saw how shallow she is."

"Part of that is he's learned how other people's emotions affect him."

"What, he's a telepath now?"

"No, all he can do is tell is someone is feeling positive or negative emotions and if they are directed towards him or not."

"That could be useful. What's this?" Said Sam as she picked up a large chart and unrolled it across the table.

"Oh that." Said Jazz, "I was trying to work out a way to repel only ghosts that use negative emotions as an energy source. If we could make it affect a large enough area and put one around the Ghost Portal then no malevolent ghosts could use it, but it wouldn't harm Danny."

Their conversation was interrupted by Sam's cell phone ringing. While she answered it, Jazz started to pick up the papers strewn across the table. Suddenly Sam yelled "What!" before dropping the phone and running for the door.

"We've got to go! That was Tucker, Danny's in trouble near the school!"

"What kind of trouble?" Said Jazz as she hurriedly stuffed the papers out of sight.

"Ghost trouble!" Said Sam, "Now hurry!"

Yep cliffhangers are torture for readers and fun for writers.

Complete change of subject, but spelling is not one of my strong points. I know that, I misspell common words all the time. Words like complete, common, ghost, sure, and school, so why did I get malevolent, telekinesis, and ambient, correct on my first try?

Well anyway, thank you for the reviews and if you ask me a question or ask for a reply in your review I will reply. If your review doesn't really need a reply I might answer if I have time but I do read every review and appreciate when people take the time to tell me what they think.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny battled the last of Walkers goons high over the street while Sam stood over Tucker who was dazed by a near miss earlier. Jazz carefully aimed an ecto-gun though she was afraid to fire and hit her brother by mistake. Finally, she got her chance and fired. Her shot didn't do much damage to the ghost but that moment of distraction was just the opening Danny needed. Quickly he captured the ghost in his thermos but as he turned to thank Jazz he was struck from behind. As he twisted in mid-air to dodge the following shots he saw a figure in red riding afuturistic jet-board.Amity Park's mysterious ghost hunter continued to fire at him as she dove out of the sky,but only the firstshot even came near him.

As they zigzagged crazily through the air some of her shots went wild and struck near by buildings. One hit the supports of a large billboard causing it to tip towards the street. As they continued their one-sided fight Danny simply tried to get away until he heard Jazz scream.

The few people on the street watched in horror as the billboard fell. Jazz was directly under it and there was no way she could get out of there in time! Danny didn't even stop to think, he just reacted. He flew faster than he ever had reaching Jazz barely seconds before the sign hit. Sam, Tucker, and Valerie watched the dust start to settle over the wreckage of the billboard, no one moved and for a moment everything was silent.

Valerie landed her jet-board and just stood there, staring. She almost fell down in shock when Phantom appeared floating over the wreckage holding Jazz. He drifted over to a clear spot and gently set Jazz down.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-yes," she said, "I think so."

They were interrupted by the hum of Valerie's gun as she prepared to fire. Jazz seemed to shake off her brush with death without a second thought as she marched over to the ghost hunter.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" Jazz screamed as she snatched the gun out of Valerie's hands. "Wasn't almost killing me once enough for you!"

"Almost killing you? I'm trying to save you from the ghost! Now give me my gun before he gets away."

"The only one I need saving from is you! Or did you not notice that _all_ the damage was caused by _your_ gun!"

"It's all the evil ghost boy's fault!"

"Why? Because he won't sit still and let you hurt him? And as for evil, _you_ almost killed me, he saved my life. Somehow he doesn't look like the villain here to me."

"You don't know what he did! He got my father fired!"

"That's why you're hunting him?" Said Jazz with disgust. "What do you think will happen to the people who work in these stores?" She pointed at some of the shops that lined the street. Many of them were badly damaged. "How many of them won't have a job to go to tomorrow because of you."

"But I didn't mean to! I was trying to stop the ghost. "

"Do you think that will make a bit of difference to them? Do you think that if you say 'It was an accident. It wasn't my fault.' They'll say 'Oh that's okay, I don't mind loosing my job'? Go home and quit playing at being a ghost hunter before someone really does get hurt."

"What do you mean 'playing'? I AM a ghost hunter!"

"No you're not. A real ghost hunter knows about ghosts strengths and weaknesses, you just show up and start blasting. A _responsible_ ghost hunter either uses weaponry that can't harm humans or is very careful that no bystanders are in the line of fire." With that she turned and walked away still holding Valerie's gun. Valerie was left standing alone in the middle of the deserted street.

Stupid 3 A.M. plot bunnies, they won't leave me alone. I really meant to work on my Detective Conan story but this story won't leave me alone.

I don't hate Valerie, in fact she's one of my favorite characters but she can be described as "She's made up her mind and you can't confuse her with the facts." Also she seems kind of careless about the safety of bystanders. This is a dangerous combination.

By the way, I said I'd reply to reviews but I can't do this when the e-males bounce like happened to two replies I sent last week.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long day at school. On top of the pop quiz there had been two ghost attacks. Strangely Valerie hadn't shown up for either one. All Danny wanted to do was finish his homework and call Tucker and Sam, but when Jazz and Danny walked in the door they were pounced on by their parents.

"Sweetie, come and see our new invention, it's a revolutionary breakthrough in ghost hunting!"

"It is?" Said Danny weakly.

"Of course it is son! And it's all thanks to Jazz!"

"It is?" said Jazz worriedly.

"Oh yes! This chart you made tracking how ghosts use negative energy is incredible! A whole new approach to dealing with malevolent ghosts."

Jazz felt her heart sink as she recognized the paper her mother held. _'That's mine!' _She thought. _'I must have left it out yesterday when Sam and I left to help Danny!'_

She tried to think of an excuse to get Danny out of there but their parents enthusiastically ushered them into the lab.

"Get a load of this baby!" Said Jack, holding up a dull silver box the size of a toaster. "It's the Fenton Negative Energy Neutralizer! It produces a field thirty feet across and prevents any ghosts inside the field from absorbing negative energy. This will weaken them and make them easier to capture!"

Before Danny or Jazz could say a word, Jack plugged in the silver box. A soft hum filled the air before fading to silence. Jazz heard Danny take a deep breath but he didn't seem uncomfortable. But she wanted to make sure he was alright so she said.

"That's great but I need to go help Danny study for a big test."

Then she almost dragged him upstairs to his room.

"What test?" said Danny.

"I just said that to get you out of there. Do you feel okay? That invention didn't hurt you or anything?"

"No I'm fine Jazz."

"Are you sure? When they turned it on did you feel anything?"

"Well kinda…"

"What!"

"It felt warm."

"Warm? What do you mean?"

Danny seemed to be trying to find the words to explain what he felt. "It was like when you're really cold and tired and you walk into a nice warm room. It felt good, comfortable."

"It felt good?"

Danny nodded.

"Well I'm going to check it out tonight. I think you should stay away from it until we're sure what effects it has on you."

"No arguments here Jazz."

With Jazz's help his homework was done in record time and he left to meet Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger.

Jazz went downstairs to the lab where her parents were working.

"Sorry I ran out like that."

"That's alright Sweetie." Said her mother. "I'm proud of you for putting so much effort into tutoring your brother. He's doing much better in school now."

"Well he was just having trouble with organization and his study skills." Said Jazz, "Um, you said that it was my chart that helped you but I'm not sure how."

"Well honestly your chart is brilliant, I don't think anyone has ever taken that approach to studying ghosts but it explains a lot about ghosts."

"Like what?" said Jazz.

"Why ghosts keep coming to the living world for one thing," Explained Maddie. "And why they attack and scare people for another. That's why we made the Fenton Negative Energy Neutralizer, It blocks ghosts from absorbing negative energy."

"How does it do that?"

"I puts out energy of a type and frequency that matches positive human emotions, masking any negative energy in the area."

"So it works like a white noise generator?"

"Very much like a white noise generator."

"Mom? What kind of effect does it have on humans?"

"Not much of one. Someone who is unusually sensitive might find it calming or comforting without being sure why, but most people wouldn't ever notice it."

Oh, that's interesting." Said Jazz. "What would happen if say, a ghost that used positive emotions as an energy source was inside the field?"

"A ghost that used positive energy? Such a ghost would be very rare. As most people's reaction to ghosts is fear it would be almost impossible for a ghost to find a dependable source of positive energy. Although that might be why reports of benevolent ghosts are often around churches, temples, and other places where lots of people feel happy or comforted."

"Well if a ghost used positive energy and was in the field what would happen? Asked Jazz.

"That's easy Jazzypants. The ghost would feel charged up, this baby puts out a lot of energy."

"Your father's right. If by some chance a ghost that used positive emotions was near it would get stronger I think. But since that kind of ghost would be very rare and unlikely to try to scare or harm humans it shouldn't be a problem. Anyways Jazz, what got you looking at ghosts from this point of view?"

"Well in the ghost attacks I've witnessed the ghosts seemed to be trying to cause as much fear as possible. It just made sense that they would have some kind of purpose behind their actions."

"That is amazing Jazz. What other insights do you have about ghosts?"

The conversation continued for over an hour and although Jazz was careful to not compromise Danny's secret her parents were amazed at the knowledge she displayed. And her ability to apply psychology to ghosts to help predict where and how they might attack.


	6. Chapter 6

His quiet and luxurious cabin hidden in the Rocky Mountains was one of the few places Vlad could relax. He dreamed of Maddie sharing it with him. Tonight he was picturing her sitting in front of the fireplace with him listening to the rain. The firelight shining in her hair as she looked into his eyes.

"Mew."

'_What is that?'_ He thought

"Murr."

The sound was coming from behind his chair. Cautiously he looked around.

"Mrrow."

He looked down. There, by his chair was a scrawny and pathetic looking cat. He reached down and picked it up by the scruff of its neck. The small animal seemed half starved, little more than bones and fur. It didn't seem to mind dangling from his hand as he examined it; in fact it began to purr.

With the cat still purring Vlad walked towards the front door to throw it outside but when he opened the door he saw that the rain was now a full-blown thunderstorm. It looked like a solid wall of water out there. He looked at the cat, it was still purring as it dangled limply from his hand. He looked at the downpour outside. He looked back at the cat and made a decision.

'_If I throw it out it'll probably come right back in. I might as well keep it in here for tonightand take it to apound tomorrow.'_

Looking closer at it he saw that the cat's ribs showed clearly through it's bedraggled fur.

"Humph. I suppose I should feed you, otherwise you'll probably keep me awake all night." He grumbled as he walked to the kitchen.

He put some leftover chicken on a plate and set the cat down. It ate almost franticly yet never stopped purring and every few bites it would run over to Vlad and rub against his legs, Vlad sat at the table and watched the cat's antics. After finishing off the piece of chicken, a slice of cheese, and a hardboiled egg the cat simply collapsed on his feet and began to snore. Vlad picked up the cat and placed it in a bathroom for the night, it didn't even twitch at being moved. After a moments thought he found a plastic pan and lined it with some newspaper to serve as a litter box for the cat before going to his bed.

In the morning Vlad was surprised to find the cat snuggled against his side, purring. He picked it up by the scruff of its neck to look at it, wondering how it got out of the room he had shut it in last night. As the cat dangled from his hand it yawned, blinked sleepily and reached out a paw to gently touch the end of Vlads nose. Vlad made a disgusted sound as he dropped the cat on the bed and stalked out of the room. The cat stretched before bounding out of the room to follow Vlad.

He fed the cat a can of tuna to keep it quiet and just like the night before it would gobble a few bites then run over to Vlad and rub against his legs purring. As soon as the cat finished eating he stuck it in a box, put a lid on it and got in his Jeep to go to the nearest town. When he got there he found that the town was so small there wasn't a pound but a clerk in the town's only grocery store knew someone who would take a cat. When she walked out to his car to get the cat she insisted on opening the box to see it.

"What a _cutie!_" She said and immediately picked the cat up. "Look at her color, it's almost a copper-gold. And listen to her purr!"

Vlad thought the cat's purr sounded rather like an engine in need of a tune-up. But he kept quiet as he watched the woman look the cat over.

"Well, "She said. "I'd guess this little one is about six months old and seems to be in good health except for being so thin. Are you sure you want to give her up?"

"Thank you but I am not, getting, a cat." Said Vlad rather rudely as he put the cat in the box, handed the box to her, got in his car and left.

"I wonder what his problem is?" The clerk said to her self. "Well you're probably better off without him little one, I think I've got tuna in my lunch today… Hey! Where'd you go?" She said as she looked in the empty box.

Vlad drove back to his cabin where he found the ghost that usually worked as his pilot waiting by his helicopter ready to take him back to his mansion. He collected his laptop and a few other things before climbing in the helicopter. It wasn't until he landed at home that he discovered the stowaway. His staff was treated to the sight of Vlad walking in with his laptop in one hand and a kitten dangling from the other. He shoved the cat into the arms of the maid and said, "Here. Take this to the pound. Give it away, something. I'll be in my lab." He strode past them to his lab and shut the door. A few hours tater he felt something brush against his ankles. He looked down to see the kitten rubbing against his legs. After yelling at the maid, who insisted she had left the cat at the pound, he gave the cat to the butler and sent him to take the kitten to the pound. The next morning he took it there himself. By lunch time the kitten was purring as it lay on top of Vlad's shoe.

No the cat isn't a ghost cat, all its traits and quirks are based on real cats I've known.


	7. Chapter 7

Methodically Valerie cleaned her weapons, double-checking that they were working properly. But her mind wasn't entirely on what she was doing because of a few sentences endlessly replaying in the back of her mind.

"**_Go home and quit playing at being a ghost hunter"_**

**_"I am a ghost hunter!"_**

"_**The only one I need saving from is you!"**_

"She's wrong." Valerie said softly to herself. "She doesn't know what that ghost is capable of."

**_"Go home and quit playing at being a ghost hunter"_**

"I'm not playing around."

"_**How many of them won't have a job to go to tomorrow because of you."**_

"She doesn't understand. The destruction would be so much worse if I didn't stop the ghosts."

_**"Go home and quit playing at being a ghost hunter"**_

"I **am** a ghost hunter!" She said, but she knew that even with her new suit and weapons, all she could do was chase the ghosts away temporarily. They'd always come back.

_**"A real ghost hunter knows about ghosts strengths and weaknesses, you just show up and start blasting."**_

Valerie paused for a moment. Could that be the answer? If she watched the ghosts for a while, and only intervened when she had to, could she find a way to take care of the ghosts permanently?

"Only one way to find out." She said as she loaded her ecto-gun.


	8. Chapter 8

It hadn't been one of Danny's better days at school.

"Hey Fen-ton!"

"What do you want Dash?"

As Danny turned around, Dash stuffed him in his locker. Danny waited a moment then went invisible and intangible and stuck his head through his locker door. Seeing that Dash had left and the hallway was clear Danny sighed and stepped out of his locker before regaining visibility.

Danny just made it to math class on time, where he was surprised with a pop quiz; afterward he was on his way to his next class when Dash stuffed him in his locker again. This time Tucker and Sam let him out before all three hurried to history class. Later, during lunch as they sat at their usual table Danny complained about the way his day was going.

"That's the second time today he's shoved me in my locker and it'sonly now lunch time! What is his problem anyway?"

"I heard his grades are so bad that he might be suspended from the team unless he brings them up soon."

"Great, he gets bad grades and I spend the day inside my locker."

"I guess he wants to spread the misery around."

"Ha, ha, very funny Tucker."

After lunch Dash tried to stuff Danny in his locker a third time. At this point Danny had had enough and lunged out of his locker, unexpectedly punching Dash in the face. Of course, this was when Mr. Lancer walked out of a classroom and saw Danny, who was half in his own locker, give Dash a bloody nose.

"Lord of the Flies! What's going on here?" He yelled before dragging them both to the school nurse then giving them both detentions.

When Danny finally got out of detention he found Sam and Tucker waiting for him just off school grounds.

"Thanks for waiting for me." He said.

"Any time." Said Tucker, "Who were those people talking to Mr. Lancer earlier?"

"Ghost hunters, sort of. They want to stake out the school after hours for a few nights."

"Ghost hunters? Like the Guys in White?"

"Not really, Sam. They don't want to destroy ghosts, they want to "document possible paranormal activity and try to communicate with spectral entities". And they think the school is haunted."

"They want to what with what? And how do you know this anyways?" Asked Tucker.

"They want to talk to and take pictures of ghosts. And they showed up at my house this morning to talk to my parents." Danny shrugged and continued. "I think my dad kind of freaked them out."

Sam laughed and asked, "They want to _talk_ to ghosts and take pictures but were freaked out by your dad? What kind of ghost hunters are they?"

"Normal ones. No really, most ghost hunters spend their lives trying to find proof that ghosts even exist. I don't think there's a dozen teams worldwide that make weapons like my parents do. The worst part is the school really is haunted and I'll have to check on them and make sure they don't run into the Lunch Lady."

Sam made a face at the thought of the giant meat monster and Tucker asked, "Are you going to be stuck watching the school?"

"No. If anything happens right away someone will call my parents and Jazz will hear about it and call me. Later tonight I'll sneak in and set up some ghost detectors that Jazz modified for me, the detectors work kind of like a silent alarm so no one will even know they're there."

"Since you don't have to stay here let's go see Zombie High II. I hear it's scarier than Dead Teacher III."

"I like the way you think, Tucker." Said Sam.

"Do you like me enough to pay?"

"Don't push it."

Later that evening Danny phased himself and a backpack full of Jazz's improved ghost detectors through the school, placing the detectors under floors and inside walls and ceilings where no one would accidentally find them. When he floated invisibly into the cafeteria he almost laughed out loud as he quickly ducked back out and called Sam and Tucker on the Fenton Phones.

"You guys have got to see this!"

""What?"

"Just a minute. Let me get the new camera on this working." After fiddling with the Fenton Phone for a moment he put it back on and said. "Okay Tucker, plug the earpiece into you PDA and see if it works."

"Got it."

"Okay, I'm going to go invisible so tell me if it quits working. But once I'm in the cafeteria keep it down, I don't want them to hear me."

"Who?" asked Sam.

"The ghost hunters." Said Danny, and then he phased himself through the wall. On the other side he found five people sitting at a table holding hands. One of them, a tall man with a grey beard was saying, "We just want to communicate. If you can hear us please give us a signal."

Danny could hear muffled laughter coming from Sam and Tucker. Sam said softly, "They're sitting at our table having a séance?"

Danny put his hand over his mouth and tried to keep from laughing as he watched.

"If you want to talk to us give us a sign. Make a sound or move the table."

Danny was now biting his gloved hand to keep from laughing out loud.

"If you don't want to talk to us tell us and we will leave. Make the table shake and we will leave."

Danny couldn't keep quiet any longer, so still invisible and intangible he shot through the ceiling and out of the school. When he reached Sam and Tucker, who were waiting in the parking lot he was still laughing, and when Tucker made a comment about haunted tables all three of them laughed so hard they were leaning on each other to stand up.

"The town's been invaded by a ghost army, sucked into the ghost zone, and been attacked by everything from the spirit of Halloween to the ghost of a disturbed cafeteria worker. And those ghost hunters are sitting around a table in an empty school in the middle of the night having a séance?"

"I know Sam." Said Danny as he rubbed his hand across his face. "At least I got the ghost detectors in place so if anything does happen I'll know. Hopefully no ghosts will attack, it's obvious these people couldn't deal with the Box Ghost. "

Tucker snickered as he pictured the séance being interrupted by the Box ghost.

"If you're finished could you sneak me back into my house before my parents find out I'm gone?"

"Sure Tucker. What about you Sam? Want to 'fly Phantom Air'?" he asked as he held out his arm.

"You are such a dork." She said as she smiled and took a hold of his arm. "Yeah, just drop me off in my house."

Holding Sam with one arm and Tucker with the other Danny lifted into the air and flew off into the night.


	9. Chapter 9

Valerie found it a lot harder to spy on ghosts than she had thought it would be. After a week or so she finally admitted that her suit was too conspicuous and decided to try a new tactic. She bought a good pair of binoculars and asked her benefactor to send her a small but powerful, directional microphone, with these she could watch and listen from a distance.

Tonight she was trying them out near the school, hoping that she could hear something from the ghost hunters inside. She was about to give up and try somewhere else when she saw something on the far side of the parking lot. She ducked behind the edge of the building, then careful to stay in the shadows she focused her binoculars. She almost dropped them in shock! There, walking up to the school were Sam and Tucker and the ghost boy! She aimed her microphone towards them, hoping to get some clue why two of her classmates were walking next to a ghost instead of running away.

"You wait here while I put this stuff inside." Said the ghost as he gestured towards a lumpy backpack.

"You sure this will work?" Asked Tucker.

"Yes, once they're in place they'll go off if any ghost comes near but they can only be heard with the Fenton Phones." The ghost smiled, "And I can get some sleep instead of worrying about these ghost hunters getting in trouble. If anything happens we've got the Fenton Phones, just keep your voice down I don't want anyone to hear me."

Valerie watched as Tucker and Sam settled down to wait. After a few minuets Tucker began playing with a strange thermos. When he began tossing it in the air and catching it, Sam smacked him on the head and said.

"Tucker, if you break the thermos and let the ghosts out again…"

"Okay, I'm putting it down. See?"

'_Let the ghosts out **again**? What does she mean by that?' _Thought Valerie as she watched Sam grab the thermos away from Tucker. Sam and Tucker suddenly stopped arguing about the thermos and appeared to be listening to something but all Valerie could hear was static.

"What?" Said Tucker, he seemed to be listening again then he took off a weird green earpiece and plugged it into his PDA. "Got it." He said.

Another pause then Sam asked "Who?" They listened again and watched the screen of the PDA for a moment then they both began laughing. Sam softly said, "They're sitting at our table having a séance?"

Sam and Tucker watched a little longer, trying to muffle their laughter; then the ghost boy joined them. He was also laughing, as he landed near them Tucker said something about 'eating lunch at haunted tables' but he was laughing so hard Valerie couldn't really understand him. Whatever he said, Sam and the ghost laughed so hard that all three of them were leaning on each other just to remain standing.

'_Why are they laughing like that? Why aren't they afraid of the ghost?' _Wondered Valerie, _'And how can a ghost get out of breath from laughing?'_

When Sam had stopped laughing long enough to catch her breath she said. "The town's been invaded by a ghost army, sucked into the ghost zone, and been attacked by everything from the spirit of Halloween to the ghost of a disturbed cafeteria worker.

And those ghost hunters are sitting around a table in an empty school in the middle of the night having a séance?"

"I know Sam." Said the ghost as he rubbed away tears of laughter "At least I got the ghost detectors in place so if anything does happen I'll know. Hopefully no ghosts will attack, it's obvious these people couldn't deal with the Box Ghost. "

Tucker snickered before asking, "If you're finished could you sneak me back into my house before my parents find out I'm gone?"

"Sure Tucker. What about you Sam? Want to 'fly Phantom Air'?" he asked as he held out his arm.

"You are such a dork." She said as she smiled and took a hold of his arm. "Yeah, just drop me off in my house."

As the ghost and two humans lifted into the air Valerie stood, stunned in the shadows. **Nothing** that she had just seen made any sense.


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you sure it's safe?" Asked Danny as he poked at a dull silver box, one of several on a shelf.

"I'm sure." Said Jazz, "Hurry up and change so we can finish before Mom and Dad get home."

"Alright already." Danny rolled his eyes in irritation before rings of light appeared around his waist and he changed into his ghost form. Almost as soon as his transformation finished a surprised look crossed his face.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Jazz.

"I'm not sure." Said Danny. "Um, you know I said that invention felt warm and comforting when I'm near it?"

"Yeah?" Asked Jazz.

"Well it feels reall_y_ nice now. Kind of like drinking cocoa when I'm really cold."

"Like cocoa?"

"I don't know how to describe it. It's comforting and nice and I don't feel tired right now and I was tired a few minuets ago… What are you doing Jazz?" He asked as she pointed a green and silver gadget at him and studied its small screen.

"This scans a ghosts energy, I'm seeing how the negative energy neutralizer affects you."

"What!" yelled Danny, as he turned back human. "You said it wouldn't affect me!"

"No, I said it was safe for you, it still affects you."

"Exactly _how_ does it affect me?"

"It repels malevolent ghosts because it puts out a lot of positive emotional energy masking the negative energy they feed on. However, since you use positive energy the neutralizer should be beneficial for you." Danny looked at her skeptically as she continued. "Just go ghost for a moment so I can check my readings."

Although clearly still unhappy with the situation, Danny shifted forms and stood quietly as Jazz scanned him with several different inventions.

"Okay, we're done for now." She said, "It has exactly the effect I predicted."

"What effect is that?"

"A beneficial one." Then she handed him one of the Negative Energy Neutralizers.

"What's this for?" said Danny as he tried to hand it back to her.

"It puts out the kind of energy you need now. Put that one in your room and turn it on."

"What! Why should I?"

"Danny, you know how you've been really hungry and tired lately?"

"Yeah."

"Well with all the ghost hunting you've been doing and the rate your powers have been developing you've been using energy faster than your body can replace it. If you keep going like you have you'll make yourself sick soon. This invention will help you, I think you should be near it at least an hour a day, more if you wear yourself out to where you change back or pass out."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, I've been testing this since Mom and Dad built the first one."

"Okay Jazz, It's just that new inventions make me nervous."

"I know Danny." Said Jazz softly. "Danny?"

"What?"

"Is something bothering you?"

"It's nothing."

"Danny."

"It's _nothing_ and nothing can be done anyway"

"If it's bothering you it's not nothing. Besides, just talking about it might help."

"You're not going to drop this are you?"

"Nope," Jazz smiled as she said, "it's all part of my job as your big sister."

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes before he gave up and explained. "Fine then, I just feel so alone sometimes." He saw the look on Jazz's face and tried to clarify what he meant. "I know you're here for me, and I don't mean alone that way. I mean that sometimes I don't feel like I have much in common with anybody." He began to pace back and forth as he spoke. "Today in English I had to write an essay on fear. Most people wrote about the same kind of stuff, ghosts, or heights, or spiders, you know _normal_ fears. You know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid I'll turn evil and destroy the world. I'm afraid one of my parents' inventions will kill me and I'm afraid of what that will do to them. I'm afraid I won't be fast enough or strong enough and someone will die. I'm afraid of what I can do and I'm afraid it won't be enough. And I'm afraid that if anyone else finds out they'll only see me as a freak."

He realized he had been walking _through _a table as he paced. "See?" He laughed but there wasn't much humor in the sound. "I don't do much of anything normally, sometimes I wonder if I can even be considered human anymore."

Jazz walked over to him put her arms around him, ignoring the chill that surrounded her brother in his current form she just held him for a moment.

"Jazz?"

"Shh!" Said Jazz as she placed her hand on Danny's chest. "Give me your hand." She held his hand against his chest. "You feel that? Your heart beats slower when you're like this, but it still beats. And no matter what form you're in you're still Danny, still my little brother. Your 'ghost half' isn't going to take over or turn evil because it's not a separate entity."

"But the ghost catcher…"

"When you used it you wanted to use your powers to protect the town but you also wanted to be normal and goof off with your friends. You were literally 'of two minds' about the situation, that's why you couldn't get back together until you worked together."

"But why would I _want_ to be evil? Even in that other future I can't imagine…"

"My guess is that other you just wanted to stop hurting, but the only way that would work would be for you to stop caring. To become incapable of caring about anyone but yourself, basically your other self went insane."

"That's not exactly reassuring."

"Danny, it was a choice. And I know you, now that you're aware of the consequences of that choice you won't ever _make_ that choice."

"How can you _know_ that? How can you be so sure?" He asked angrily, his fists clenched as he turned away.

"Because it scares you." Jazz said calmly. "That's how I know."

"Still…"

"Danny, I know you get bullied a lot at school. Have you ever considered getting revenge? Not with pranks or embarrassing someone, but seriously hurting them?"

"NO! Of course not!" Danny looked horrified that Jazz would even suggest that.

"But the kids responsible for those school shootings did. You wouldn't even need a gun, you could blame it all on ghosts."

"I'm not some kind of monster, Jazz! I'd _never_ do that!"

"And that's why I'm not worried about you becoming evil. I've seen you risk your life to help the people who pick on you every day. You save people who hate you, you protect people who are actively trying to destroy you, and the only person you seem to hold a grudge against is Vlad. You might be my lazy, immature, and annoying little brother, but you're also a true hero. And it's not because you have powers, it's because of what you do with your powers."

A small smile showed on Danny's face as he said, "I'm not sure if I should feel complemented or insulted."

Jazz laughed and said, "I'm just being honest."

"Thanks Jazz, I feel so loved now."

"Danny, _everybody_ has the choice to act in a humane or an inhumane manner. Every day on the news you hear about people who choose one side or the other. Mom and Dad could have been _very_ rich if they had decided to design weapons, instead they try to make sure that all of their inventions are fairly harmless to humans. And whatever the issue, I see you keep trying to make the right choice, whether it's about cheating on a test or helping someone you don't really like."

Danny blushed; he wasn't comfortable with Jazz giving him so many complements. Jazz decided she had embarrassed him enough for now, so putting her arm around his shoulders she said. "Come on, let's get the Negative Energy Neutralizer set up before Mom and Dad get home."

Danny smiled, and a ring of light passed over his body. She felt his shoulders go from chill against her arm to a normal warmth as his hair darkened and his faint glow vanished.

"Okay, I need to go check on those ghost hunters afterwards though."

"Those ghost hunters are still at the at the school? Do they have any weapons in case something happens?"

"No, Dad gave them some Specter Deflectors but they leave them in their van."

"You'd think they'd be smarter than that."

Danny laughed and said "Well, last night they _were_ having a séance around a table in the cafeteria."

"They were _what?_"

Laughing, they walked upstairs. Danny was carrying the silver box and Jazz could see that he was far more relaxed than before their talk.

'_I may not be much help with fighting ghosts, but I'll always be here for you.'_ She thought, _'I won't let you feel so alone anymore. Not now that I know, not if I can do anything to help."_


	11. Chapter 11

First a big THANK YOU to Razzek Mecotl forvolunteering to bemy Beta reader.Second, check out Snickerers new forum. She has a plotbunny adoption center there,as soon as I get organized enough I'll be donating some of my unused plotbunnys too.

Although the lights were off and the students at home, Casper High was anything but deserted. Five people quickly and professionally set up their unusual equipment throughout the school. It was near dark when they finished and met in the cafeteria to plan their investigation for the night. A tall, grey-bearded man had spread a map of the school on one of the tables; he frowned at it as he spoke.

"This is supposed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the most haunted town in America and nothing unusual has happened so far. Hopefully tonight will be better. Adam, Joe, I want you to start at the auditorium and work your way down the north hall. Kate, Gabby, and I will start here and head towards you. Make sure you document any anomalies you find."

"Yes, sir!"

"Adam, will you quit that?"

" Come on Rick, I'm just showing my respect for your leadership skills."

"Well, don't. It makes me nervous when you're polite."

Several snickers were heard as the two groups of ghost hunters split up to examine the school.

As Adam and Joe checked the auditorium Joe muttered, "This has been a waste of time."

"I know. This was supposed to be the real deal. We were supposed to see ghosts, possibly find a way to communicate, and document the results. Instead we find the most normal high school I've ever seen and an entire town that thinks it's haunted."

Joe interrupted him. "Look at this! The camera picked up a cold spot on that wall..."

"Probably the AC blows on that wall,"

"Then why is the spot shaped like a person?"

"What!"

Adam snatched the camera away and stared at the screen. After a few minuets and a brief argument, Joe reclaimed the camera and began documenting the exact dimensions, placement, and temperature of the spot. Adam decided to see if any of their other equipment registered anything unusual.

He was about two feet from the wall when a head popped out right in front of him. It was translucent blue at first but as soon as the head was clear of the wall it appeared solid, although Adam could see the apparition's neck and shoulders disappearing through the wall.

They stared at each other for a moment before the glowing green eyes blinked and an oddly echoing voice said, "Uh, hello?"

Adam shrieked and ran out of the room as fast as he could, followed closely by Joe.

If anybody had been left to watch they would have seen a white-haired boy float the rest of the way through the wall as he muttered to himself, "Well that didn't go well."

Moments later, Gabriella, Kate and Rick were startled to see Joe and Adam run into the cafeteria looking and sounding like extras in a horror movie.

"What is wrong with you!" Yelled Rick.

"It came through the wall!"

"It talked!"

"Right in front of me! It came right through the wall"

"It looked right at us and spoke!" Adam and Joe said, more or less at the same time.

"What came through the wall?" asked Rick as he tried to figure out just what was wrong with them.

"Um, it was me. Sorry," said an unfamiliar voice coming from the door to the hall. Everybody turned to look as the voice continued, "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't know anybody was in that room." A boy who appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old walked into the room.

"How did you get in here?" Rick asked.

"I walked," said the boy.

"I ought to throw you out, or at least call your parents," said Rick; the boy looked confused. "But it's not like you're interrupting anything. So far we haven't found any signs of paranormal activity. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this was all a hoax."

The boy stared at them for a moment then he began laughing. Kate seemed to take his amusement personally.

"Considering you're dressed like a refugee from a sci-fi convention I don't think that you have any room to laugh!" snapped the young woman.

"I'm sorry," he said, still chuckling. "It's just that this isn't going at all the way I thought it would. Although I prefer this to how most people react."

Joe and Adam somehow managed to look both frightened and fascinated at the same time, while Kate and Rick just looked confused. Gabby folded her arms across her chest and said:

"You're the ghost boy. Invis-o-whatever."

The boy sighed. "My name's Danny Phantom, I really hate being called Invis-o-Bill."

"And why were you hanging around this school tonight?"

"I guess I was curious. Also I was kind of thinking about talking to you guys before I bumped in to those two." He pointed at Adam and Joe.

Kate looked irritated as she walked closer and said, "You don't actually think we'll believe you're a ghost?"

The look on his face could be described as a smirk as he answered, "Yes. How would you like me to prove it to you?"

"Do something ghostly."

"How about this?" he asked as he floated off the floor. Everybody stared in amazement as he drifted near the ceiling.

"How are you doing that?" Kate demanded as she jumped and grabbed his ankle to pull him down; unfortunately he simply phased his foot right through her hand.

Gabby chuckled and said, "I'll accept that as proof. Now why did you want to talk to us?"

"Most of the town thinks I'm one of the bad guys, I'd just like to tell my side of the story without getting shot at for once."

"I'm listening," said Gabby as Rick, Adam, and Joe hurried to grab cameras.

"Well first, I'd like to say I've never attacked this town. Actually, I try to protect it."

"Protect it from what?"

He opened his mouth but instead of replying an odd blue mist came out. "Not now," he groaned.

As the ghost hunters stared at him in confusion he methodically scanned the room. He was facing the wrong direction when a ghost that resembled a robot with flaming green hair came through the wall behind him. It flung a small metal ball at Danny and the sphere exploded on contact, blowing Danny halfway across the room and into one of the tables.

"I've come to take your pelt for my collection," said the new ghost.

"What makes you think this time will be any different than the last hundred times you've attacked me, Skulker?"

"I've upgraded my weapons, and this time I will destroy you."

"Fat chance!" Danny said. "You're nothing but a shriveled frog in a high-tech suit."

"I'll teach you to mock me!"

"Oh, you don't have to teach me anything, Froggy. You're such an easy target it just comes naturally."

Skulker yelled angrily as he chased an intangible Danny right through the wall of the school and outside.


	12. Chapter 12

As Danny dodged Skulker's attacks he saw the team of ghost hunters rush out of the building and begin setting up their cameras in the school parking lot.

"Great," he grumbled to himself. "I was trying to get Skulker away from them."

The battle was violent, as usual when Skulker was involved, but it was surprisingly short. After Danny blasted Skulkers jet pack and sent him spinning out of control, all Danny really had to do was wait until Skulker's erratic flight path brought him close enough to use the thermos. As he put the lid back on the thermos he heard an unfamiliar sound: applause. The ghost hunters had been cheering him on during the fight!

'I guess that's why it was easier to beat Skulker this time!' He thought. 'Jazz was right, I do feel stronger when people want me to win.' Danny flew back down to where the ghost hunters were standing.

"That was so cool!" Adam said as Danny landed. "The way you dodged those rockets! Then you were all 'POW!' And he was like 'AAAAUUUGH!'"

"Uh, thanks," said Danny. He wasn't sure how to handle all the attention he was getting. He hoped no other interruptions showed up.

"So," said Rick, "was that what you protect Amity Park from?"

"Yeah. He's not the only ghost I fight and some are a lot worse. At least Skulker's usually just after me."

"What is that? Does it harm the ghost?" Joe asked, pointing to the thermos.

"This? It's a Fenton Thermos. It doesn't hurt, it just traps a ghost. But it is really cramped inside."

"Where did you get it? And how do you know it doesn't hurt?"

"I kind of borrowed it from the Fenton's lab and I've accidentally been sucked inside before."

"You have?" said Gabby. "What does it feel like?"

"Sort of like being shut inside your locker by a bully." That answer surprised the ghost hunters. The idea of the very powerful entity in front of them knowing what it was like to be stuffed in a locker at school... It didn't fit with what they expected.

After a moment, Gabby asked, "Why do you protect the town?"

"Because I don't like to see people hurt. I can stand up to these ghosts and no one else can fight them this way. And because there are people living here that I care about and, even if they don't trust me because I'm a ghost, I'm still not going to let them get hurt."

"Why do the other ghosts attack?"

"Some ghosts get energy from human emotions. A lot of those ghosts use the energy from emotions like anger, pain, and fear. So they attack to get people to feel the emotions they feed on."

"Do you use emotions too?"

"Yeah. I kinda have to, I don't know of any other sources of energy strong enough on this side of the Ghost Zone. But I'm not like the ghosts I fight! I need to be around positive emotions."

"I guess that would give you another reason to not like seeing people hurt," Gabby said.

"Yes, but I didn't like to see people hurt before I knew I needed positive emotional energy."

"So you didn't know at first?"

Danny scowled a little. "It's not like I got a book of instructions when I became a ghost, I wasn't even sure what I was at first."

"If you're protecting this town, why did you attack the mayor?"

"I didn't! I was framed!"

"Framed?" asked Kate.

"Yes, by a ghost named Walker. He wanted revenge, said he'd make the living world into my prison."

"So you really did rescue that little girl from the fire?" Gabby said.

"Yeah."

"I saw you on the news. It looked like you were trying to perform CPR."

"I was, she wasn't breathing when I found her. I think she had been in the smoke too long."

"How were you able to do that? You're a ghost."

"Um, well... I can still breathe."

"You can? Amazing! Do other ghosts breathe as well?"

"I have no idea. I don't exactly get along with most of them. What is this, an interrogation?" Danny was getting irritable.

"I apologize," said Rick. "For years we've dreamed of finding a ghost that seemed aware of us and willing to communicate. So, meeting you...well... I hope you understand if we're a little too enthusiastic."

Danny smiled. "That's okay. I guess I'm just not used to this. Normally people either run and scream or try to attack me. I actually came here to talk to you but I don't think I can answer all of your questions about ghosts. I don't even know why I'm like this, or how my powers work. Most ghosts either attack humans, which makes them my enemies, or else they just want to be left alone. Either way we don't exactly talk much."

"Oh, I see," Gabby said quietly. "Why did you want to talk to us?"

"I just wanted someone to hear my side of the story for once; I'm not a monster. I don't try to hurt people. Most of the stuff everybody thinks I did was really the ghosts I was fighting."

"Most of it?"

"Well...some of the damage is caused by the ghost hunters who are after me, and sometimes it's just a mistake."

"So what do you really want?"

"I really want people to stop always assuming I'm the bad guy, to at least give me a chance. And I'd like it if they'd stop calling me 'Invis-o-Bill'. I really hate that name."

Neither Adam nor Joe had said much; they had been too busy setting up cameras, recorders, and equipment to measure changes in temperature and electromagnetic energy. But after hearing Danny's answer, Joe looked up from the camera he held and asked in amazement, "All you want is for people to not shoot at you on sight, and to call you by the right name?"

Danny thought for a moment. "Yeah, that's about it. Oh yeah, if I tell someone to run, they should listen. I don't like bystanders getting hurt." He held up the thermos. "Look, I gotta go shove Skulker back in the Ghost Zone where he belongs. I'll try to talk to you guys again before you leave town but I need to go now. Bye!"

Danny flew away, thinking, 'I need to hurry, I don't want to miss curfew again this week!'

"That was really weird!" Kate said as she watched the ghost leave.

"Oh man, you're not kidding," said Adam.

Gabby had a thoughtful look on her face. "I wonder… He said he borrowed it from the Fenton's..." The rest of the team looked at her oddly. "The thermos thing he used. He said he borrowed it from the Fenton's lab. I think we should talk to them again."


	13. Chapter 13

Maddie was enjoying something that was very rare in the Fenton household: quiet. She was the only one home just then and was enjoying the peace as she studied the charts and graphs Jazz had made. The charts were amazing; the information in them represented a breakthrough in dealing with ghosts but Maddie couldn't help wondering what could have caused Jazz to have such an abrupt change of attitude.

Last summer Jazz wouldn't have had anything to do with ghosts, yet now she was helping her parents design an improved ghost shield. This one would basically absorb the negative energy in any ghost that came in contact with it, rendering them too weak to be a threat. As a plus, it would be almost unnoticeable and would need far less energy than their current ghost shield.

Oddly enough, though it would have been much easier to make the shield absorb all spectral energies, Jazz insisted that it only absorb negative frequencies. She said that the spectral energy was in some ways too similar to human emotional energy and it would be far safer to focus the shield on a very limited range of energies and decrease the possibility of it affecting humans. At times Jazz seemed almost obsessed with making sure that the only things affected would be ghosts that used negative energy. Sighing, Maddie turned the chart around; she was confused by, yet very proud of, her daughter.

Her musings were interrupted by someone at the door. When she answered it she found three members of the team of ghost hunters waiting there.

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton. We were wondering if we could talk to you about an encounter we had last night."

"Of course, Ms. Harrington."

"Please, call me Gabby. Ms Harrington makes me sound like a schoolteacher."

"I'd be glad to, and I'm Maddie. So what brings you here?"

Gabby chuckled, explaining as they walked into the living room. "We had an interesting encounter with your town's ghost boy last night."

"Was anybody hurt?"

"No. In fact, he seemed quite friendly and peaceful except when the other ghost attacked him."

"Attacked?"

"Let me start at the beginning. It's confusing enough as it is. Adam and Joe here," -she gestured at the two men- "saw him first."

"He came through a wall right in front of us," said Adam. "He looked about as surprised to see us as we were to see him."

"These two hurried to inform the rest of us about what they had seen," Gabby chuckled. "They were so excited and startled we weren't sure what they were talking about at first."

"Be honest, Gabby," Joe interupted. He turned to Maddie. "We got spooked and ran when all he did was stick his head through a wall and say 'hello'."

Maddie smiled. "Running is a normal reaction to seeing a ghost for the first time. But you said it didn't make any aggressive moves?"

"No," said Gabby. "He apologized for scaring us and said he wanted to talk to us."

"What?"

"He said he wanted to explain his side of the story without getting shot at and he said his name is Danny Phantom, (he seems to really dislike being called Invis-o-Bill). Then he was interrupted by a ghost that resembled a robot with flaming hair. It attacked him saying something about taking his pelt..." Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Danny Phantom taunted the other ghost and got it to chase him outside where they fought until Phantom captured the other ghost in a device he called a Fenton Thermos. He said he borrowed it from your lab, though I doubt it was with permission."

Maddie listened in amazement as they described the rest of their encounter with the ghost boy, saving most of her questions until they were done.

"He says he can still breath?" she asked.

"Yes. He also appeared to blush when embarrassed."

"But how? That shouldn't be possible."

"He didn't seem to know. He was definitely uncomfortable talking about it. He said he 'didn't get a book of instructions' when he became a ghost and that he didn't get along with other ghosts."

"But he defiantly claimed to use positive human emotions as an energy source?"

Yes, although he said he hadn't always known," Gabby said.

"That is strange... For a ghost of his power to use positive emotional energy...well, he would need a fairly large support system to even exist for any significant amount of time outside of the Ghost Zone."

"How large are we talking about?" Adam asked.

"It's hard to say. He'd need fewer people if they cared for him as strongly as if he was a member of their family, as unlikely as that is. Of course, he could be lying, but I can't see why a ghost would lie about this... Any ghost that needs negative energy would want people to be frightened of it."

"I think I believe him," said Joe, catching everybody's attention. "His only requests were that people get his name right, that he's not shot at or attacked on sight, and if he tells someone to run they should listen. Those don't sound like part of some clever plan; they sound more like something that honestly annoys him. And then, when he explained his reasons for protecting this town, one of the things he said was that there are people living here that he cares about and that, even if they don't trust him because he's a ghost, he still won't let them get hurt."

Maddie had an odd look on her face as she said, "I wonder how long he's been a ghost, and if he's tried to contact people he knew before... I'd like to see the recordings you made of the encounter and I'd like to see this ghost if he comes back."

"Sure," Gabby smiled. "Kate and my husband are studying the tapes today but we can make you a copy if you'd like. And he did say he'd try to see us again. I'd just like you to leave your weapons behind." Maddie looked unhappy at that condition. "He didn't threaten us in any way, and I think he'd be much more likely to talk without guns pointed at him."

"I understand. But Jack and I will be wearing our Specter Deflectors just in case. We have fought him before and he might carry a grudge."

"I hope not. I'd like to speak with him some more. Since your vehicle is rather unique, why don't we pick you up on our way to the school tonight?"

"Okay. But come here a little early if you can. We'll give you a tour of our lab and show you the information on ghosts we've collected."

"Sounds good! We'll be here about five, and I'll bring you a copy of the tape."

Maddie's smile faded a little after her guests left. 'How could a ghost that powerful exist using positive energy? I've checked Jazz's calculations and there shouldn't be enough positive energy available around here for a ghost to do more than maintain it's form and have some limited effect on solid objects. But why would a ghost claim to use positive energy if it didn't? If a ghost feeds on negative energy it doesn't make sense that it would try to reassure people...'

She hoped that tonight she would get answers to at least some of her questions.


	14. Chapter 14

That afternoon the ghost hunters arrived at five on the dot. Maddie invited them in and said, "Jack is downstairs. Our daughter, Jazz, is helping him prepare some scanners we'd like to take."

"EMF or temperature?" Joe asked.

"Neither. These should measure the ghost's energy and give us some idea whether it uses negative or positive energy."

"Cool!" Adam blurted out. "You can do that?"

"Theoretically, but we haven't had an opportunity to test them on a ghost yet."

"If you can measure the polarity of a ghost's energy, can you detect human emotions as well?" asked Kate. "The frequencies seem to be very similar."

"Yes, but only in the most general terms. I couldn't tell you if someone was experiencing anger, grief, or pain, only that they felt a strong negative emotion."

"Still, that's amazing!"

Still talking, they walked down the stairs to the lab. The ghost hunters were very impressed with the lab. Gabby and Joe began discussing how psychology could be applied to ghosts with Jazz, while Kate and Maddie compared notes on the technical aspects of ghost hunting. Rick and Adam were admiring the Specter Speeder while Jack explained how it worked.

"This is our ghost portal," said Maddie, gesturing toward the device.

"Ghost portal? You mean you have a trans-dimensional doorway?" Kate said with enthusiasm.

"Yes. We bought this house because there was a weak point here in the barrier between our world and the Ghost Zone. We built the portal around that weak point."

"How did you turn a weak spot in reality into a stable, two-way portal?"

"When activated, the portal used a surge of energy and focused electromagnetic fields to force the tear in reality a little wider so some of the energy from the Ghost Zone could leak through. That ectoplasmic energy was focused back on the tear, widening it further in a cycle of positive feedback. In minuets the portal was full size, but it wasn't completely stable until several hours later."

"Amazing! How did you keep the machinery from being torn apart by the stress?"

"That was the hardest part. All our prototypes burned out or exploded, until Jack had a brilliant idea. We designed this one so that, shortly after the ectoplasmic energy began coming through, the inside of the portal changed phase! It isn't completely in either world but partially in both. This prevents it from being destabilized from either side, and makes it easier to affect the tear. Of course, part of the machinery is unreachable from either side..."

Kate stared in awe. The science behind this portal was unbelievably far ahead of what she had considered possible and this brilliant scientist was explaining it in a rather matter-of-fact way. Kate knew that if she had been involved with the creation of something like this she would have been anything but calm. She probably would have tried to tell the world and scheduled press conferences.

She turned to ask Maddie another question when something moving caught her eye. A faint wisp of green wavered in front of the closed door to the Ghost Zone. As she watched, it grew thicker, then the doors slid apart slightly. Alarms went off as a humanoid form began to take shape. It was a sickly grey-green, indistinct and translucent with no clear features. It was almost as tall as Jack when it stopped growing and opened its red eyes. Those eyes were mad in every sense of the word, angry and insane. It looked at them, opened it's featureless black gash of a mouth, and shrieked, causing everyone in the room to drop to their knees and cover their ears, though that didn't begin to dim the pain in their heads. When the noise stopped, everyone was still too dazed to react in time as it grabbed Jazz and flew through the wall.

"JAZZ!" Maddie screamed, grabbing an ecto-gun and running out of the lab right behind Jack. Everyone else followed her.

When they got outside they saw Jazz crouched on the ground. The ghost boy stood over her. He had formed an ectoplasmic shield and was using it to protect them both from the ecto-blasts the other ghost was throwing at them. The other ghost wasn't quite so formless now: it was tall and gaunt and the features of its face were twisted into an expression of hate as it battered at the shield and tried to get at them. Jack and Maddie immediately fired at the ghost. It dodged most of the shots but was distracted enough that Danny Phantom was able to drop his shield and begin throwing his own ecto-blasts while Jazz ran towards her parents.

The ghost flung a large blast and knocked Jack into the side of the house, stunning him. When Phantom saw that, he yelled something that no one quite heard and tackled the ghost, knocking it out of the air. As soon as they touched each other though, Phantom screamed, sounding like he was in terrible pain. The other ghost didn't let go. As they struggled it turned intangible and pulled him into the house. A moment later it flew back out and dove for Jazz and Jack only to be knocked aside by a green ecto-blast as Phantom followed. Before it could recover, Maddie fired her weapon at it. While it dodged her, Phantom landed near Jazz.

"When he pulled me through the lab, he was a lot weaker when we were near the neutralizer things," said Phantom

"Of course!" said Jazz. She turned to the five ghost hunters nearby. "Have any of you ever fired a gun?"

"A paintball gun..." said Adam meekly.

"Close enough." Jazz handed him Jack's ecto-foamer. "Here's the trigger. It won't hurt humans but don't hit Danny. The rest of you come with me!" She led them inside to the lab and had them grab all the Negative Energy Neutralizers they could find and a large bundle of extension cords.

Adam, Maddie and Danny stood over a dazed Jack, fending off the ghost while Jazz directed the other four ghost hunters inside the house in the preparations for her plan. When they had everything ready, she ran back outside and began taunting the ghost, daring it to attack her. As it flew towards her she ran back into the house.

Maddie made a move to shoot the ghost before it could reach Jazz but Phantom stopped her.

"Wait!" he said. "She's got a plan!"

That moment of hesitation allowed the ghost to reach the open door where it flinched and tried to turn around but it was too late.

"NOW!" Jazz yelled from inside the house.

The ghost shield came down, trapping the ghost inside. At the last minute, Phantom flew under the edge of the shield and trapped the clearly weakening ghost with an ectoplasmic shield as Jazz, Rick, Kate, and Gabby carried Negative Energy Neutralizers, plugged into the extension cords, and set them around the ghost. It grew weaker and soon was little more than a grey-green shadow with red eyes.

"Here," said Jazz, handing Danny a thermos.

He dropped his shield and sucked the ghost in before it could react.

Everyone took a deep breath, relieved that it was over. Phantom looked nervously at the weapons they still held and at the active ghost shield.

"Okay," Jazz yelled, "turn it off!" The Ghost shield shut down a few seconds later and they heard Joe coming down from the Ops center.

"Why'd you do that?" asked Jack.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Dad, Phantom saved my life and helped protect you after that ghost hit you. I think he deserves our trust, at least enough to not trap him here when he's only here because he was helping us. Now, since all of you were planning to try to find him for a talk, why don't we all put the weapons away and sit down?" She herded them into the living room before anyone could argue.


	15. Chapter 15

As they all walked to the living room, Jazz went to find the first aid kit. She brought it into the room, handed it to her mom, and told Maddie to check Jack and see if he was all right. Then she looked at Phantom and said, "Sit down! I'm not going to let anyone start shooting in here, so relax."

Phantom perched on a chair a little away from the other people in the room. As soon as he sat down Jazz set a Neutralizer next to him and plugged it in, then she left the room again.

"Are you all right?" Rick asked the ghost boy.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I saw what that thing did to the other ghost and, well…"

"Oh. It doesn't affect me like it did that other ghost. Actually, it kinda feels good."

When Maddie and Jack heard his comment, they looked at each other. After a brief, whispered conversation, Maddie walked towards Phantom, holding a small green and silver gadget.

"W-what's that?" Phantom asked, backing away.

Maddie was so intent on the readout of the unknown invention that she didn't seem to even hear his question and Phantom phased himself through the chair to get away from her right when Jazz was coming back into the room.

"Mom! I thought you were making sure Dad was ok, not chasing our guest out of the room!"

"Look at this!" Maddie said excitedly, "He uses pure _positive_ energy! In fact, it looks like fear and hatred would be uncomfortable, maybe even painful for him to be near..."

"Mom," Jazz sighed. "Go make sure Dad doesn't have a concussion. And you" -she turned toward the ghostly boy- "come over here and sit down." He obeyed and she set down the bowl of water and roll of gauze she held. "Does the top of your jumpsuit come off or do I need to use scissors?"

"What!" he squawked, quickly floating above the chair.

"You're bleeding…oozing…whatever. I'm not going to ignore that you got hurt defending me and my family."

He looked somewhat calmer but still uneasy. Phantom settled down in the chair and answered, "Yeah, I can take it off, but I'll be fine. I heal fast."

"And I'm going to make sure there isn't any dirt in your wounds while they heal. Now, are you going to take it off or do I need to cut it off?"

He gulped nervously as he took off the top of his suit. Underneath he wore a black and green tee shirt, which he also removed. Somehow he looked less threatening, even less ghostly, as he sat there shirtless. All the ghost hunters were shocked to see the many wounds across his back and right shoulder. The injuries all seemed to be fairly minor but there were enough of them that the ectoplasm he was bleeding painted much of his shoulder and upper back with green streaks and smudges. He also had a long, shallow, scratch on his arm. Joe felt ill as he realized that at least some of the green on Danny's black shirt was the ghost's equivalent of blood.

Jazz set to work cleaning Phantom's wounds gently with a moistened cloth. She cleaned the one on his arm then had him sit sideways in his chair so she could reach his back. All the ghost hunters were fascinated to watch this, though Maddie and Jack were the most open about watching. Jack was interested to see that the ghost boy had fairly a normal skin tone, was clearly breathing, and flinched now and then as Jazz worked. Maddie was startled to see how scrawny and young he seemed as he sat there. Adam was the first to speak.

"Dude! Your arm!"

Everybody in the room stared as Phantom held up his arm: the scratch was already half-healed.

"That's faster than usual," Phantom sounded surprised but not shocked. "It normally takes me longer than this to heal."

"I think the extra energy from the Energy Neutralizer is helping you heal faster," Jazz mused. "Now sit still, I'm almost done."

All the ghost hunters were now openly watching Danny, making him nervous, but he didn't realize how nervous he was until he started sinking through the chair.

"Quit fooling around!" Jazz snapped when she noticed him sinking.

"I'm not doing it on purpose!" he said, pulling himself back through the chair.

"Then why were you doing that?"

"I'm nervous, ok? I'm shirtless, bleeding, and surrounded by ghost hunters! When you're a ghost this is _not_ a good thing."

Jazz picked up the top of his jumpsuit and wiped off the worst of the green stains on the inside before handing it to him. "Here. I'm done and it looks like you'll be completely healed in a few hours."

He seemed much more at ease once he was dressed. Turning to the ghost hunters he said, "I know you wanted to talk to me, that's why I came here tonight."

The ghost hunters looked at each other and Kate asked, "Why did you start phasing through the chair?"

"My emotions can affect my powers. When I'm depressed I get weaker, when I'm nervous or worried I turn invisible or intangible. I don't mean to, it just…happens sometimes."

This seemed to startle everyone, especially Jack and Maddie. "How old are you?" Maddie asked, "And how long has it been since…" she trailed off, not sure how to ask.

"I've been like this since last summer and I'm fourteen."

"Then why are you so strong?" Jack queried. "Ghosts usually get stronger the longer they exist."

"I don't really know. I'm not much like other ghosts."

Quietly, Maddie asked, "You said you protect this city. Why?"

"Because, if I didn't, then people would get hurt."

"But you're a ghost! Why do you even care?"

"Because I do," Phantom shrugged. "I don't like to see people get hurt. I really don't like to see people I care about get hurt; they would if I ignored the attacking ghosts instead of trying to stop them. And, well, if I didn't use my powers to help, I would become the monster some people think I am… I won't ever become that. I'd use the Ghost Peeler on myself first!"

Nobody seemed to have anything to say.

Maddie stood up and walked over to Phantom. "Jack and I are going to announce that you are now working with us and that you should no longer be considered a public enemy." Phantom sat in stunned silence. "We will supply you with Fenton Thermoses but when they are full you will return them to Jack or me. We'll return the ghosts to the Ghost Zone after recording how many ghosts you captured. We'll provide you with information on our inventions and useful information we uncover in our research. In return, you will provide information on the ghosts you fight. And, if you need a safe place to rest or access to an Energy Neutralizer you can come here. I promise no traps or attacks unless we have proof you have become malevolent. Agreed?"

"That's a good idea," Jazz interrupted. "With a record of how many ghosts you catch you can prove how much good you do for this town!"

Phantom considered this for a moment before he said, "Okay. But no experimenting on me unless I say you can."

"Agreed," said Maddie. Jack muttered quietly under his breath about no experiments.

Phantom ignored his complaints and smiled as he realized that his parents wouldn't be trying to destroy him anymore. In fact, they would be helping him, both with ghost hunting and to clear his name.

Behind him Jazz smiled, too.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For the next few months' updates will be slower. I will be out of town for a while next month and my beta will have limited internet access till fall, I will still be writing but I won't be able to post new chapters as fast for a while. This morning I sent chapters sixteen and seventeen to be edited, I'm doing my final rewrite of eighteen this week, and nineteen through twenty-three are in rough-draft form. So don't worry that I'll abandon this story, I've put to much work into it to do that. :)


	16. Chapter 16

I told you I wouldn't abandon this!

It was just beginning to get light when Maddie finally gave up on trying to sleep. Her mind kept endlessly repeating the events of the evening before. She made her way to the kitchen and started the coffee maker; soon she was seated at the table, a cup of coffee warming her hands as she stared out the window.

Maddie hadn't been sitting there long when she heard a thump from the floor above, followed by the sound of someone quietly walking downstairs.

"Morning, Danny. Couldn't sleep?" she said as her son entered the kitchen.

"Um…yeah," said Danny, clearly startled to see her sitting there. "I'm kind of hungry and I thought a snack would help me get back to sleep. What about you, Mom? Why aren't you asleep?"

"Just a lot on my mind," she said.

"About…last night?"

"Yes. Danny, I'm so glad you were at Tucker's house when the ghost attacked. I just wish Jazz had been safe as well."

"Jazz is fine Mom. She said Phantom stopped the ghost before anything happened."

"Phantom," Maddie said quietly, "that's who's really on my mind."

"Huh?"

"I'd always thought that ghosts were merely ecto-plasmic manifestations of the energies and emotions present at someone's death. I believed that they attacked purely out of a near mindless pain and rage…until Jazz proved that they could have other motivations.

"When Gabby described how Phantom apologized for scaring them, and how he led the other ghost away from them and appeared to try to protect them… She and Joe and Adam described how he asked and answered questions, displayed a sense of humor and a full range of emotions," she paused to take a sip of coffee. "Then, tonight, he saved Jazz and protected all of us. I don't understand why. Jack and I have fought with him before. He should see us as enemies, but he saved us instead! Then he sat in our house and spoke with us and answered our questions…

"When I offered a kind of truce… You should have seen his smile. That's what really convinced me he was telling the truth. He looked like a dream had just come true and I had promised little more than that we wouldn't shoot at him and would try to discourage others from doing so. It was as if he hadn't dreamed it was possible that anyone would ever listen to or believe him.

"When I saw how young he was, I kept seeing you and Jazz. I wonder if Phantom has a family somewhere. Do they accept him or fear him?"

She sounded so sad that Danny just had to say something. "I think he has someone he can count on. And I'm sure he doesn't hate you or Dad; you were only doing your job. Most ghosts _are_ dangerous."

Maddie smiled and ruffled Danny's hair. "Few people are as forgiving as you, Sweetie. Fortunately, I think Phantom might be one of them."

"Mom…What do you think of Phantom?" Danny asked. He was afraid to hear her answer but he needed to know.

"I think he's a child in many ways, but one who means well. He is unbelievably powerful but rather shy. He's frightened of becoming a monster and feels that it could happen but I don't think he is one right now. Clearly, he's not like the other ghosts we've seen and I still can't understand how he can breathe, and blush, and seem so alive…" She sounded puzzled as she spoke, then she brightened. "Having a ghost help us with our research is an incredible opportunity. Who knows what we'll learn!"

Danny and his mother sat at the table together, lost in thought and watching the sun rise.

In his room later that morning, Danny changed to his ghost form and floated in to the kitchen. Jack and Maddie were understandably surprised to see him and Phantom looked equally ill at ease.

"Can we help you?" said Maddie, who hadn't expected to see him so soon.

"Um, I caught some ghosts early this morning, and…Here." He set the thermos down on the table.

"Already?" said Jack.

"Yeah," Phantom shrugged. "Some ghosts show up almost every night. These ones were kinda weak so it didn't take long. I've still got the other thermos for now, but… Can I come by tonight and get an empty one?"

"Of course," Maddie said.

"Thanks!" He smiled and flew out through the wall.

'Maybe this will work!' Danny thought. 'Maybe I won't have to run from my parents anymore.'


	17. Chapter 17

The ghost hunters left town that Friday feeling that their trip had been more than worth the time and expense. They had hours of ghostly recordings and several gadgets the Fenton's had given them. To their amazement, they even had the gratitude of Amity's most famous ghost, Danny Phantom. He had come by their hotel to thank them, saying he felt that if they hadn't listened to him and spoke to the Fentons about him then the Fentons wouldn't have been nearly as willing to listen to him that afternoon. Although none of them knew why it was so important to Danny that the Fenton family didn't see him as an enemy, they could see that it meant a lot to him.

The next day, the Mayor announced that the Fentons had invented something that would weaken and repel malevolent ghosts. They would give enough of these devices (at cost) to the city to protect most of the public buildings, including the schools and hospital.

As the reporters pressed closer to find out the details, Mrs. Fenton stunned them all by announcing that the ghost boy was now working _with_ them. The silence that followed was impressive.

"In the past three days, Danny Phantom has captured eighteen ghosts," Maddie explained. "Most of these were powerful enough to pose a threat to humans. He has also submitted to several tests and scans; these have shown him to be a potentially benevolent ghost. Based on this and his recent actions we have agreed to work with the ghost boy to protect Amity Park with the understanding that we will be keeping an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't become a threat."

The reporters exploded into action, questioning how this happened, why the town's ghost hunters would consider working with a ghost. They were quickly silenced by the appearance of the ghost boy before the Mayor.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Phantom said. "I didn't mean to threaten you. It was a misunderstanding." The Mayor wore an expression of surprise; he hadn't really expected the ghost to apologize. Turning to the reporters, the ghost boy said, "My name is Danny Phantom, not Inviso-Bill. I will be working with the Fentons to help protect Amity Park. If I warn you of a dangerous ghost, please listen. I'm not evil and I don't want to harm humans. You probably won't see me much unless I'm trying to capture a ghost, and some of them may try to take hostages or attack bystanders to get away."

The reporters regained their ability to speak and began loudly questioning Maddie and Jack, wanting to know why they trusted Phantom while Phantom looked like he wanted to hide behind the Fentons to get away. Jack's voice drowned out the questions.

"A few days ago my family was attacked by a ghost. It attacked us and, while we were stunned, it tried to kidnap my daughter. Phantom saved her life."

With the reporters quiet, Maddie continued where Jack left off. "Phantom forced the ghost to drop her and he protected her until we caught up with them. In the past few days, he has aided in the capture and containment of numerous dangerous ghosts. He has also allowed us to perform several tests and scans on him. These tests have shown that he differs from the malevolent ghosts and has the potential to be a benevolent ghost. We feel confident that he can be trusted and will be an asset when it comes to protecting Amity Park."

"Phantom! What do you get out of this deal?" one reporter shouted over the crowd. "What advantage do you gain from helping Amity Park?"

"Well… Not getting shot at is nice." Scattered laughter met this remark. "I get to use some of their equipment when fighting ghosts, the Fentons won't attack me unless they have proof I've become evil, and they'll help me if I'm attacked."

"What do you mean, 'if you're attacked'?"

"Most ghosts like me even less than most humans do."

The reporters again called out questions faster than anyone could answer while the cameras focused on Phantom. A close-up showed him to be wide-eyed and nervous as he tried to speak. Finally, he managed to talk over the noise of the crowd.

"Look! I'm not evil and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton will be watching me to make sure. I know a lot of you don't like me or trust me and probably never will. That doesn't matter. I'm going to help protect Amity Park and if you don't trust me then trust the Fentons to watch me."

With that, he flew away, leaving Maddie and Jack to field the reporters' questions.

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This would have been up sooner but I problems trying to upload this chapter. Updates will be more regular now, I should have a chapter up every week or so.

Thank you again Razzek, for your help and beta reading, this story wouldn't be as readable without you. And thank you Snickerer for feeding plotbunnies and listening while I hash out plot points.


	18. Chapter 18

Here it is finally. It's been a crazy week for me ( I hate changing jobs!) and I know this is short, the next chapter will be up on Friday.

Chapter 18

As the news played and replayed the Fentons' announcement, many people watched it and their reactions were as varied as they. Some felt anger and fear, others felt envy, shock or relief, even happiness.

In front of one TV, Paulina squealed with excitement at seeing Danny Phantom on the news as she hurried to record his interview.

In another house, Dash bragged about how he knew Phantom and had even helped him out once.

Valerie glared at the TV as the news played in her apartment.

'I know he's tricked them some how, but he won't fool me! I'll make sure everybody learns the truth about him!' she thought. 'Sooner or later he'll show his true colors and I'll be watching. I won't let him hurt them. I won't let him hurt Danny.'

And in his castle in Wisconsin, Vlad was watching the news as well. 'Oh Daniel,' he thought. 'You may think they've begun to accept you but one day they will turn on you. In time you'll learn that no human will ever really accept a ghost, not even a half ghost. And when that time comes, you'll have no choice but to join me. '


	19. Chapter 19

Danny was in his ghost form as he floated into the lab looking for his mom. Maddie was so absorbed in her research that she didn't even notice that Danny Phantom was standing next to her. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

Startled, she reached for a nearby ecto-gun before she saw who it was. She seemed embarrassed at almost pulling a weapon on him and she quickly put it down.

"Good reflexes!" he said with a smile. "I'd hate to try and sneak up on you. Again."

Maddie shook her head; Phantom had the oddest sense of humor sometimes. "Did you need another thermos already?" she asked.

"Yeah. A bunch of really weak ghosts showed up last night. What are you working on? You didn't hear me come in."

"Well, when you left your shirt here two weeks ago, it got mixed up in our laundry somehow. I was going to give it back to you when I found it, but it started to dissolve into ectoplasmic goo."

"It what?"

"It seems that without your energy to sustain it, your shirt fell apart after a few days. It's fascinating! Jack and I did find a way to stop the degeneration but by then there wasn't much of your shirt left."

"That's weird," he said.

"But it makes sense," Maddie answered. "We had wondered if ghosts' clothing was technically part of their bodies, or if it was something they manifested. Now we have evidence that it is manifested from, and maintained by, a ghost's energy field! Do you realize that this will make the cover of 'Ghosthunters Monthly'?" Danny wasn't sure what to say. "With your help, and Jazz's unique way of looking at the issues, we're changing the way the world looks at ghosts and ghost hunting. If there's anything I can do to thank you…"

"Just not getting shot at is really nice. You've got good aim. And it helps to know that if things get bad I can yell for backup."

"It just doesn't seem like much compared to what I've seen you do lately. Speaking of getting shot at, any luck with that ghost hunter in the red suit?"

"Not really. She still thinks I'm fooling you somehow."

"Why is she so antagonistic towards you?"

"Uh, well… There was this ghost dog that followed me around for a while, and it did a lot of damage before I figured out that it just wanted it's old squeaky toy. She's said that she'll stop me and my dog from ruining anyone else's life. And then, when a ghost possessed her suit, (I knew she wasn't in it), I blasted it to pieces, but she thinks I was trying to kill her."

"Oh," said Maddie.

"I really wish she didn't hate me."

"How come?"

"Um, because…because she's a really good ghost hunter. With her on our team, not many ghosts would even be a problem."

Maddie smiled. When Phantom got embarrassed he seemed cute rather than powerful or mysterious. She still wanted to know how he was able to blush red, though. Taking pity on the flustered ghost boy, she changed the subject. Unfortunately for Danny, the new topic of conversation wasn't much more comfortable.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Maddie began, "do you have friends or family here in Amity Park?"

"Yes, I have a few friends."

"Really? I'd love to speak with them!"

"No, they…don't want any attention. And I'd like at least one part of my life to be sort of normal."

"What?"

"When I'm with my friends I don't have to worry that they'll think I'm a freak, or that they're scared of me. I don't think I'd be alive without them. I know I wouldn't be sane."

"Alive?" Maddie asked.

He blushed, "Er…you know what I mean."

"I understand. What about your family? Do you have any relatives around here?"

"Yes, my parents live here. But they don't know I'm still around."

"Don't know? You mean they don't recognize you?"

"I…I don't look the same as a ghost, and I've never told them."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't want them to be ashamed of me; I don't want them to know that I've become something they hate. And…they're safer this way. I…I've got to go."

He turned intangible and flew through the ceiling. After he disappeared Maddie still stared at where she had last seen him. She knew that the conversation had shown her clues to the riddle of who Phantom was and why he was the way he was. Now if she could only understand them.


	20. Chapter 20

Jazz was surprised when she saw her brother fly through the ghost portal. He was carrying one of their parents' new inventions and his jumpsuit was shredded. Although any wounds he may have had appeared to have already healed he looked like something had tried to chew him up and spit him out.

"Danny! Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm ok, calm down."

"Calm down? You look like you picked a fight with the Fenton Weed Whacker! What happened?"

"I found Skulker snooping around the lab..."

"Skulker did this?"

"No, it wasn't Skulker who shredded my clothes. It _started_ when I found Skulker. Anyway, he doesn't like to fight me here or at school since Mom and Dad upgraded the defenses with the neutralizers. So he grabbed this off the worktable," Danny held up the gadget he was carrying. "He flew through the portal, I followed him, and I caught up with him as he went through Vlad's portal."

"So you fought with Vlad?"

"No. I mean yes, but he didn't shred my suit. I think I caught him by surprise, my ecto-blast knocked him into a bunch of stuff and before he could get up I got what ever this is back from Skulker."

"So if it wasn't Vlad or Skulker then what happened? Did you run into some ghost on your way back?"

"It was a cat."

"A ghost cat?"

"No, a housecat."

"A what?"

Danny sighed. "When Vlad got up, I shot at him again and tried to escape through his portal. But a cat, a fluffy orange **cat,** bit my ankle. I reached down to get it off but it _clawed_ its way up my leg and started shredding my suit. I had to go intangible to get away!"

"It wasn't a ghost?"

"No Jazz. Psycho-kitty wasn't a ghost; it's just evil. Jazz, it's not funny! Jazz! Jazz, stop laughing!"

Danny changed form and stomped out of the lab, leaving Jazz behind. She was still laughing.


	21. Chapter 21

Jazz was in Danny's room, trying to help him with his homework, but at this point they weren't accomplishing much beyond annoying each other. Both were wishing for some kind of interruption. They should have been more careful even though Desiree wasn't around.

Then they heard their fathers voice from downstairs.

"Vladdy!" He said, "Come on in!"

Exchanging horrified looks, Jazz and Danny rushed for the door. Danny wished he was still doing his homework, almost anything would be better than seeing his father invite his archenemy into the house. And with all eyes on Vlad, no one noticed the cat skitter in and dart under the couch as the door closed.

"We weren't expecting to see you Vlad." said Maddie sounding surprised.

"I was passing through on business and I felt I should stop and see you. Maddie you look as lovely as ever! And my fat old friend Jack, how have you…"

"Murr?"

Everybody froze for a moment as the cat crept out from under the couch and rubbed against Vlad's leg.

"Where did that come from?" asked Jazz.

"It's been following me around for weeks." said Vlad, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. "And I don't know how it got in here."

"Maybe it's a ghost cat!" said Jack as he scooped the cat up to get a closer look. Startled by his sudden action, the cat hissed and slashed at Jack's hand. When he dropped her she ran behind Maddie and hid under the couch. Jack wanted to use the Fenton fisher to drag her out but Jazz stopped him.

"Honestly Dad," she said, "it's just a kitten!" She coaxed it out and soon the cat was purring as Maddie and Jazz petted it. When the cat wrapped its front paws around Maddie's wrist, giving her hand a couple of quick licks Maddie cooed and picked the cat up to cuddle it. Danny glared at both Vlad and the cat, his eyes flickering from blue to green. Jack still wasn't sure that the cat wasn't a ghost.

"What did you name your cat?" asked Jazz.

"I do not have a cat." said Vlad. "I simply let it in out of the rain and it has followed me around ever since." His expression softened slightly as he looked at Maddie. She was smiling as the cat lay in her arms purring blissfully, and loudly. "I heard you have had quite a breakthrough in your research lately." said Vlad.

"It's incredible!" said Jack, grinning, "Jazz came up with a whole new way of looking at the ghost problem!"

"Jazz?" said Vlad; this was not what he was expecting to hear.

"I just approached the problem from a different point of view." Said Jazz.

"Don't be so modest honey." said Maddie, "Without your theories we would have never developed the Fenton Negative Energy Neutralizer."

"Negative Energy Neutralizer? How does that work?"

Maddie started to explain but Jazz interrupted her.

"Why don't we show him? I'm sure Vlad would love to see it."

"Great idea Jazz!" said Jack as he led everybody down to the lab. Danny trailed behind everybody to keep an eye on Vlad, so he was the only one to see Jazz flip a switch and turn on a whole shelf of Neutralizers. The rush of energy he felt from almost two-dozen neutralizers made him feel dizzy for a moment, but it seemed to have a very different effect on Vlad. As Jack enthusiastically explained how they worked, Vlad seemed distracted. Then he began to look pale and ill. Vlad started to rub his head and soon he looked terrible.

"Are you okay?" asked Maddie.

"I just need to sit down." said Vlad. As he turned towards her he stumbled. Jack picked Vlad up bodily before he could fall and carried him upstairs, ignoring his protests. He set Vlad down when they reached the top of the stairs but he stayed close in case Vlad fell. As soon as Vlad was seated, the cat climbed into his lap purring anxiously. Although Vlad was feeling better than before, he still felt nauseous, and his head was pounding.

Jack and Maddie fussed over him, worried about how suddenly he seemed to get ill.

While Maddie went to get some aspirin and a glass of water Vlad rested on the couch with his hand over his eyes. He wasn't even aware of it but he was petting the cat with his other hand. When Maddie came back with the water Jazz said.

"Your cat really needs a name, I think you should call her Penny."

"I don't have a cat, and I do not want a cat!"

"Well she certainly feels she belongs with you. Just look."

The cat was curled in his lap with her face pressed against his stomach and she was purring louder than before. He looked down at her and sighed. He was about to push her off but Maddie interrupted by handing him the water and aspirin and saying, "I don't see why you're so defensive, I think she's adorable."

Vlad looked at the purring lump in his lap getting orange fur all over his suit. But he couldn't bring himself to argue with Maddie, besides; the animal did have _a few_ good points. It liked Maddie and it didn't like Jack, which showed that it had at least some intelligence. He rested for a few moments before he said that he needed to go.

"I don't think you should drive like this." said Maddie.

"I'll be fine, my chauffeur is waiting."

Maddie and Jack looked doubtful.

"I'm sure it is merely stress and that I have been busy and neglected to eat well lately. I'll be fine after I get some sleep."

He pushed the cat out of his lap as he got up to leave. As he got in his car out front, Jazz came running up.

"Don't forget Penny!" She said so sweetly that Danny found it disturbing. Vlad just sighed and took the cat she held out to him. If he had looked back as he left, he would have seen an evil grin on Jazz's face.

I'm sorry I've dissapeared for a while, I've been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. Family stuff, work stuff, computer glitches, and now I'm going to be out of town for a bit. Updates will be slow again, but I am continuing to write new chapters, and I might have a short fic ready to post in about a month.


	22. Chapter 22

Back in his room Danny shut the door behind him, then he turned to Jazz.

"What was that about?" he demanded.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did Vlad get sick like that? I know it had something to do with the neutralizers, but what? Did you know that would happen?"

"I had a good idea what would happen, and I was testing a theory. Vlad is definitely oriented towards negative energy."

"Huh?"

"Like you, Vlad is a normal human genetically but quite different physiologically. Even though his powers don't seem to have developed as fast as yours have, they still use more energy than human biological processes can produce. So like many ghosts, you both use emotional energy. You use positive emotions, he uses negative ones. So with that many neutralizers running, the amount of positive energy in the room not only kept him from absorbing more energy, it actually interfered with his ability to use the negative energy already stored in his body."

"Oh, like what happened to the ghost that tried to kidnap you."

"Yes, and since a ghost is basically energy it just started to fade. Vlad got sick instead because, well, he's not really a ghost, but his body does need some of that energy."

"I see. Why doesn't Vlad seem to know about this? I mean, the name of the neutralizers should have made it obvious to him how they work."

"Part of it is that his powers developed differently than yours. The portal was much larger, and you were inside of it, so you were exposed to a lot more energy. Also your age may have let you adapt to the changes quicker. That caused your powers to develop faster, so you have a much bigger energy drain to deal with. That made it easier for me to see the fluctuation in your abilities caused by your emotional state and that of the people near you. Also he is in denial about a lot of things."

"Like being a fruitloop?"

Jazz sighed. "He's in denial about the fact that he is miserable and lonely. And he does not see himself as a villain. So he can't really admit, even to himself, that he enjoys seeing other people hurt and scared. I'm not sure what it would do to him to face that about himself."

"Oh, I see. If he does figure out the neutralizers, how dangerous would that be? I mean, what if he makes his own?"

"You mean if he made _Positive_ Energy Neutralizers?"

"Yeah."

"That won't be much of a problem for you unless he makes one that is about twenty times as strong, or you get trapped in a room with two dozen of them like he just did. You are usually alone when you fight Vlad so you are dependant on the energy already stored in your body anyway. If he reverse engineers a neutralizer and tries it out on you, there won't be any immediate effect, so he might decide that it doesn't work at all. He might not even realize that you use emotions as an energy source. For some reason, energy from positive emotions seems to last longer than energy from negative emotions, although it might just be you. Either way, you sometimes win battles with stronger ghosts, because you can simply outlast them. So your dependence on emotions isn't that obvious except with long term, close observation."

"Oh."

"The really interesting part is that Vlad, like nearly all humans, craves love and approval. But because of his energy alignment, when he gets it, it weakens him, and he might even feel repelled by people who honestly care a lot about him. So as long as he is dependant on negative energy, he'll never be happy."

"Wow, no wonder he's a fruitloop. I kind of feel sorry for him."

"Unfortunately, I don't think this can be changed unless he wanted to change himself. And well, you know how likely he is to admit he was wrong."

"About as likely as Sam wearing a sparkly pink dress and wanting to be a cheerleader," said Danny, smiling.

"In other words, never?"

"Yep. You said he needs that energy even when he's not in ghost mode. Do I?"

"Yes, the energy is present no matter what form you're in. That's why the Specter Deflector affects you. And well, as you adapted to the changes in your body you became somewhat dependant on it. It is also responsible for your fast healing. You don't need much when you're in human mode, but you'd feel extremely weak without it. And if the change was sudden enough, you'd feel sick, queasy and dizzy. That's what happened to Vlad."

"But what about when I was split? Or when Vlad used the Plasmius Maximus on me?"

"Well, it seems like the ghost catcher separated out most of the ghost-like energy in your body. And since you are both matter and a living energy field, the part of you that separated out was a functioning entity instead of formless energy. But not all the energy was removed from your human body; a little bit, kind of like a residue was left behind. And between the fact that you were literally 'in two minds' about the situation, and the physical and mental shock of the split, neither half could behave normally. Most of your ambition and determination seemed to go with your energy. But most of your caution and practicality seemed to stay with the part of you that was physically human. And since both of you were halves of the same whole, when you both occupied the same space, the half that was mostly matter could tap in to the powers of the half that was entirely energy.

"And from what you said about the Plasmius Maximus, I'd guess that it just suppressed your energy and made it mostly inaccessible to you. It was still there, just buried."

Danny was rather uncomfortable with the conversation; he didn't really like to think about just how different he was now. He had always wanted to be normal, and now he felt more freakish than ever.

Yet, in some ways he could be considered lucky. The accident could have killed him; Jazz was still trying to understand why it hadn't. And if it wasn't for his friends and family he could have been as lonely and miserable as Vlad.

And then there was the fact that if one of the stronger ghosts had showed up during the first few months after the accident, or if his dad had remembered to charge Maddie's gun that one night, well… As bizarre and unpleasant as some parts of his life were, it could have been much worse.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Maddie wasn't sure if she was more excited or nervous. And Jack was so wound up that he certianly didn't need any coffee. Today Phantom would allow them to perform a variety of tests on him, and to use cameras to record the tests and the results. It had taken a lot of talking to get him to agree, and they had needed to go over each and every test they wanted to perform ahead of time. Many tests he had completely refused, often with no explanation. But he had agreed to more than Jack and Maddie had expected.

Their guest was just as nervous, if not nearly as excited. "I still don't know how you talked me in to this," she said as she fiddled with a strand of her dark brown hair, "I'm a doctor, I deal with the living and try to keep them that way."

"Phantom is very different from other ghosts, at times he seems almost human. We have seen him cry, laugh and even blush. And somehow he breathes. We want you to, well, give him a check up. To see what other biological processes he performs or mimics."

"I don't know much about ghosts but I didn't think ghosts breathed."

"They don't normally. Some do use breath based attacks and appear to take a breath to prepare to attack, but Phantom is the only one so far who seems to breath like a human."

Evangeline still looked uncomfortable as she asked, "How safe are we? I mean, if something happens?"

"Don't worry, we're experts!" answered Jack.

Maddie realized that Vangie was nervous about being near a ghost and tried to reassure her. "Phantom isn't dangerous to be around."

"Isn't dangerous?" Vangie sounded skeptical "I've seen him on the news, I've seen him get slammed through a brick wall and just shake it off. He launches green _fireballs_ from his hands. I want to know what will happen if he decides he doesn't _want_ his temperature taken."

"He'd probably leave," said Jack as he tinkered with a piece of equipment.

"What?"

"He generally avoids conflict with humans," said Maddie as she double-checked a scanner. "He usually just leaves the area if he doesn't want to deal with people. You don't need to worry about him attacking us, and when you meet him face to face you'll see that he isn't what you might expect. He's very different when he's not fighting other ghosts."

Maddie had just finished checking the equipment again when somebody knocked on the door of the lab. All three of them turned to look and saw Phantom peeking around the half-open door.

"Um, hi?" he said. He looked more nervous than Jack and Maddie put together as he walked in the room. Maddie smiled reassuringly at him while Jack turned on the cameras. Vangie just hung back and watched for now, she didn't look any more at ease than Phantom.

"Thank you for helping us with this," Maddie said, "and if you have any questions about these tests or the results, please ask. We don't want you to feel uncomfortable." He didn't really look more relaxed, but he smiled a little at her words as she continued. "This is Dr. Evangeline Klum, she'll be helping us with some of the tests."

Vangie came forward; she was trying to hide just how nervous she felt. "They've asked me to basically give you a checkup so I'd like to start by listening to your breathing." She sounded very professional as she held up a stethoscope. "Can you take off the top of your suit?" He nodded and pulled it off. Jack and Maddie were surprised to see he had a black and green tee shirt on underneath.

"When did you get your shirt back?" asked Jack.

"I don't know. A new one just appeared after I left that other one here." Phantom looked at Vangie and asked, "Do I need to take this shirt off too?"

"No, It won't be in the way." Phantom looked relieved at her answer. And despite her nervousness about being so close to a ghost, Vangie thought that his embarrassment at undressing was sort of funny.

Maddie interrupted for a moment, "We'd like to get a sample of your ectoplasm if you don't mind? We have a lancet here; it is the same kind that someone with diabetes would use when testing blood sugar. If you would use it to prick your finger and then wipe the drop of ectoplasm on this slide?"

"Sure." he said, trying to sound confident and failing. He used the lancet on his finger. The tiny cut healed almost before he could get the sample on the slide. Maddie placed the slide in a waiting scanner as Vangie placed the stethoscope on Phantoms chest under his shirt. Vangie had barely started to listen to the stethoscope when she dropped it and stepped backwards, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" asked Jack as he and Maddie stared at her.

"I heard a heartbeat!" Vangie sounded almost like she was accusing Phantom of something as she repeated, "You have a heartbeat!" Phantom looked very self-conscious as she picked up the stethoscope and listened again. "Your heartbeat is slow but otherwise healthy, strong, and normal, _human_ normal! And just a minute." She placed two fingers on the side of his neck for a moment, and then held his wrist. "You have a strong pulse in your neck, but no pulse at all in your wrist. And I didn't think ghosts had a heartbeat or pulse."

"They shouldn't," said Maddie softly, Jack seemed speechless and Phantom was slowly sinking into the floor. Maddie saw this and realized that he was uncomfortable and nervous and tried to calm him down. "It's ok, we just need to see what is normal for you. And Vangie was surprised, that's all."  
Phantom pulled himself out of the floor; he still looked so scared that Maddie wanted to hug him like she would do with her children. Jack apparently felt the same way because he came up and placed one hand on Phantom's shoulder.

"Don't be so nervous! It's going to be the same tests we talked about before, even if some of the results are different than we expected. And we already knew you aren't like those other ghosts."

Oddly enough, Jack's presence seemed to have a calming effect on him. Maddie thought it was because of Phantom's sensitivity to emotions, and Jack's growing trust for the ghost boy. Both Maddie and Jack had slowly begun to not only trust, but also feel some affection for him, but Jack was more open about showing this. Of course, Jack was always more open about showing emotions.

As they had gotten to know him they had seen that the dangerously powerful ghost they saw in battles, the ghost that casually shook off blows that would have killed a human, wasn't all there was to Phantom. When not fighting other ghosts he seemed almost shy. And if it wasn't for his faint glow, and tendency to float, he could almost pass for an ordinary kid. Well, an ordinary but oddly dressed kid. Phantom stood still as Vangie listened to his heart and to his lungs, several times she asked him to take a deep breath. She wanted to check his blood pressure, she was sure he had blood pressure since he had a pulse. But as he didn't have a pulse in his arms, her blood pressure cuff was useless. Then Vangie checked his eyes and ears. Other than glowing green, his eyes looked fairly normal, and using an eye chart the only unusual thing they found was that he could read it just fine in dimmer light than they could. And his hearing seemed normal. They measured his height and then around his chest and waist, and across his shoulders, almost if they were measuring him to fit a shirt. Then Maddie handed him his jumpsuit top and asked him to stand in front of a scanner.

"What does this do?" he asked.

"This scans a ghosts energy levels, we've already tested it on some of the ghosts captured last week."

Phantom smiled as he said, "I wish you hadn't sent Skulker back to the ghost zone already. I kind of liked seeing him as a lab rat."

Maddie shook her head. After they had captured Skulker he had shown them the tiny ghost inside the armour. When Phantom came by the next day and saw Skulker in the Fenton Spectral Entity Containment Unit (a fifty gallon fish tank with a ghost proof coating on the glass and top) he literally laughed until he couldn't stand up.

"He was useful, but we couldn't provide the energy he needed here without weakening the defenses around the portal."

"I know, but it was fun seeing the ghost zone's greatest hunter sitting on a chair from a dollhouse." Phantom smirked at the thought. "At least he won't want to come back for a while, so I won't have to worry about him coming to try to take my skin."

"Why is he after you anyway?"

"Because he's a psycho? He hunts things that he thinks are unique, one of a kind. And I guess that a ghost who protects humans is pretty unusual."

"Wait a minuet! A ghost wants to skin you?" asked Vangie.

"Yeah," answered Phantom, "Skulker wants to skin me, Poindexter tried to steal my body and powers, Walker wants to imprison me for a thousand years, and most of the other ghosts just want to destroy me. I'm even less popular in the ghost zone than I am here."

Vangie just shook her head; Amity's most famous ghost was not what she expected.

"What?" asked Phantom.

"It's just that I expected you to be, I don't know, spooky?"

"What? I'm supposed to float around going, 'Fear me for I am Danny Phantom!" Vangie snickered as he continued. "I leave that kind of stuff up to the Box Ghost."

"Please hold still," said Maddie, as she looked at the readouts from the scanner. "Ok, could you charge a small ectoblast in your hand? Don't release it, just hold it for a moment."

"Sure."

Vangie watched, her eyes wide, as he held a small ball of green fire in his hand, then following Maddie's instructions he let it dissipate, then he turned different parts of his body invisible while Jack and Maddie took notes of the readings from the scanners. Phantom was a bit of a mystery, and not at all what she had expected. She was definitely going to take the Fenton's up on their offer and help them with their research. Phantom wasn't at all threatening, and she was far too curious now to just walk away.

Ok, it's been a LOOONNG time since I updated, sorry. All I can say is Real Life attacked me for sevral years.


	24. Chapter 24

Valerie was very frustrated, she had been observing ghosts for weeks now and she was more confused than ever. She had seen Sam and Tucker with the ghost boy several times, but when she tried to follow them they always disappeared. Then there was the Fenton's truce with the ghost boy; she couldn't understand how they could trust him. Didn't they see how dangerous he was? Sometimes she felt as if the whole town was under a spell or something. She had even seen Jazz and that ghost sitting on the roof of the Fenton's house one night.

And although the idea of Jazz psychoanalyzing a ghost was pretty funny, Valerie was rather disturbed by the sight of a ghost looking so comfortable while so close to professional ghost hunters. She wondered if he was controlling them somehow, or if he really was that powerful, or that arrogant that he didn't fear them at all. She hoped it was arrogance. But even if he was that powerful, she wasn't going to give up. Even if the whole town was fooled into believing that he wasn't dangerous, she wouldn't fall for his tricks. (Besides, she'd sooner believe that Dash was an evil genius, than that Phantom was anything but a monster.) Soon school would be out, and she could spend more time protecting Amity. She knew it worried and angered her father, but he didn't understand. She couldn't give up ghost hunting, but not for the reasons he thought. It wasn't really about revenge anymore, and it certainly wasn't about the thrill, the adrenaline rush. That wasn't nearly enough to keep her going through the pain and frustration.

No, she kept going even though it affected her work and her grades, her sleep and her health. She kept hunting even as her dreams died one by one. She kept going because of her nightmares. Images of her father, limp as a rag doll in the jaws of that huge ghost dog. Images of people screaming as their bodies were vaporized piece by piece, the way the ghost boy had destroyed her old suit. Images of Danny's broken body at Phantom's feet, as the ghost reached for her with wet, red hands. Nightmares like these drove her out to hunt until sheer exhaustion allowed her to finally sleep without dreaming.

She no longer cared much if most people saw her as a hero, villain, or fruit loop, as long as her nightmares never became reality

...

It had been barely more than a week since Danny had destroyed the Reality Gauntlet, and that weird, nightmarish trip had ended. Danny and Tucker were goofing off and playing video games one quiet afternoon, when Tucker looked over at Danny and asked a question that had been bugging him all week, "I don't get it Danny, why'd you erase your parents memories too?"

"Because it's better this way."

"What? They accepted you! You wouldn't have had to hide so much; you know they wouldn't have grounded you for ghost hunting. Heck, they probably would have forgot about giving you a curfew."

"It hurt them Tucker," Danny rubbed his chest as if trying to ease an ache as he spoke. "I've gotten better at feeling emotions, especially from my mom and dad, and finding out that I'm Phantom _hurt_. I don't want to ever feel them hurting like that again." Tucker sat in silence as Danny continued. "I don't know if it was because they had hunted me before, or because I've been lying to them all this time, or, or something else. But they hurt so much that I could feel it. They _were_ proud of me, they _did_ accept me, but they can't ever know what I am, Tucker. I can't hurt them like that again."

They turned back to playing the game but the mood had changed now, both remembering that weird and awful day a week before.

Though Tucker's thoughts were racing, they seemed to go in circles and he couldn't think of anything to say. And after a while, Danny said, "At least I know they wouldn't hate me, they wouldn't see me as a monster." He looked over at Tucker. "I don't really feel like playing games right now. Why don't we go to Nasty Burger?"

"Yeah, sounds good, let's go."


	25. Chapter 25

Vlad was in his ghost form as he paced angrily across his lab, trailed by an orange cat. "Doesn't anyone know why those ghost shields are so effective? Or why they don't affect Daniel?" he demanded.

"Only the Box Ghost and Klemper have been willing to face the ghost child in the shielded areas." Said Fright Knight.

"Do you mean to tell me that no one will face a boy, just because of a few shields?"

The child defeated Rage," said Fright Knight, "defeated him and sent him back to the Ghost zone as a wasted shadow."

"He had help!" Vlad snapped as he untangled the cat from his cape

"Yes, he had help, a handful of _humans_. Pariah Dark led an army of ghosts against Rage."

"Daniel is _not_ that strong, he can't be that strong!"

"I do not think he is, Pariah took the ring from Rage when they fought. But weakened or not Rage is dangerous, he feeds off your will to fight, he drains even the strongest ghosts, and grows only more powerful. The ghost child's deeds are most impressive."

There wasn't much Vlad could say to that, so floating a little farther out of the cat's reach, he turned to Skulker. "You were captured and held in their lab for days. _Surely_ you learned something about the new ghost shield."

Skulker looked very annoyed as he said, "It's something called a Fenton neutralizer, it doesn't stop ghosts, but weakens them instead. And the whelp seems immune. He was in and out of there in both forms, but he hasn't told his parents that he's half ghost."

"He'd be an idiot if he did, he can't _possibly_ believe they'd accept him." Vlad muttered, then he continued louder, "I want one of these ghost neutralizers to examine. Just _one_!They're in buildings all over Amity Park, so even _you_ should be able to handle getting one."

His tirade at Skulker was interrupted when the cat leaped off a shelf and landed on Skulkers head. There was a moment of utter silence before the cat screeched and tore across the room, her fur smoking. Vlad was never able to explain why he reacted the way he did. He never stopped to think, he just yanked off his cape and pounced on the cat, wrapping her tightly to smother any flames. Then holding her securely, even as she yowled and struggled, he turned intangible and phased them both through the wall and out of his castle.

Dr Smith had seen some weird patients and weirder clients in his years as a veterinarian, and this one rated an 'interesting' at the very least. A silver haired man, wearing a very expensive suit, was trying to intimidate the receptionist (After eighteen years in this office not much bothered her, although the twelve foot python on her desk had come close) The man was clutching a wiggling bundle wrapped in cloth. And from the noises it made, there was a cat inside who was either in pain, extremely unhappy, or both. There were no patients waiting, and this seemed urgent, so Dr. Smith quickly showed him into an exam room. Once the cat was unwrapped, it clung to its owner and yowled. This made the examination difficult, but not impossible, though he had rarely seen a client as touchy about personal space as this one.

In most places, the burns had not reached the cats skin, her fur had protected her. But she had some small first-degree burns on her chest, and her fur had been singed down to a fraction of an inch all along her chest and belly. She was a very lucky cat; all she really needed was something to soothe the tender skin and keep her from licking it raw.

"Now I want you to make an appointment with your usual vet for a checkup, to make sure she is healing properly, with no signs of infection."

"I don't have a 'usual vet'."

"Okay then, do you live around here?"

"Yes."

"Then make an appointment with the receptionist before you leave."

"Fine."

Although his manner seemed cold and abrupt, he carefully and neatly wrapped the cat up in the cloth again. Refusing the offer of a carrier as unnecessary, he cradled her securely in one arm as she purred. Dr Smith didn't think he had ever heard a cat purr quite that loudly before.

The receptionist looked up and sighed, _'Here comes the slime ball' _she thought, _'I bet he's a lawyer.'_

"I need to make an appointment for this cat," he said.

"Very well sir, I need you to fill out these forms."

After a bit, he handed her the forms. As she looked them over she felt her eyebrows rise in disbelief. He didn't know the cat's age, he hadn't named her, and under breed he put 'orange' half the answers were blank!

"Sir, has this cat had _any_ vaccinations?"

"Not that I know of."

"Has she ever seen a vet before?"

"I don't know."

"Well _I _don't know what you think you're doing, but you have a responsibility as a pet owner. You say you have had this cat for several months, and you haven't even named her! Let alone provided the most basic preventative care!"

"Fine! If she needs a name then call her Penny!"

"You need to bring her back for a checkup, we have an opening next Thursday. We'll start her vaccinations then, also you should make an appointment to have her spayed. Unless you _want_ to deal with litter after litter of kittens?"

"Hmph."

He took the papers she handed him, and a tube of ointment and left. Once outside and out of sight he transformed. He was surprised to find he was wearing his cape, even though the cat was still wrapped in the one from before, but he decided to investigate after he got home. He turned himself, and his purring bundle invisible and flew home. Although he was angry at how that woman talked to him, Penny's purr relaxed him almost against his will. By the time he reached his castle, he was no longer planning on sending Fright Knight after her. But he was considering arranging for Technus to scramble all the electronics in her home.

Over the next few days Vlad dutifully cared for Penny. There was no way he'd ever admit that he cared about her, but he did find her presence soothing. She quickly healed, and was soon back to normal except for a nearly bald patch on her underside. It was clear that she adored Vlad; she still followed him everywhere, though she stayed away from open flames now. Penny had no fear whatsoever of Vlad in either form, and often crept into his lap, or snuggled in the folds of his cape while he was distracted. And being abruptly dumped from his lap when he noticed never seemed to discourage her at all.

She also liked to fish crumpled pieces of paper out of the trash, and after noisily 'killing' it she'd present Vlad with the shredded remains. One day she dropped a well-chewed wad of paper in the middle of a lab table in front of Vlad. With an exasperated growl, he knocked the paper ball off the table. Penny gleefully pounced on it and brought it back to drop in front of Vlad again. He looked at her curiously, and then flicked the paper off the table once more; Penny bounded after it and brought it back again. This soon became a game of fetch. Vlad had never heard of a cat playing fetch before, but he decided it was a sign of unusual intelligence, for a cat. Penny had also developed a fondness for lying on Vlad's shoes, whether he was wearing them or not.

One morning, after shooing Penny off his shoes, he stuck his foot in and felt something cold, clammy, and _moving_ in his shoe! "Gah! What is_ that_!?" he yelled as he yanked his foot out. He held the shoe upside down and at arm's length and shook it until something fell out. Vlad stared at the tiny, and barely conscious Skulker. He looked at Penny who seemed rather smug, then at Skulker, then back to Penny.

"Next time, find somewhere more appropriate to leave _that_." He muttered before ordering one of the vultures to put Skulker somewhere out of the way until he woke up. Then Vlad walked away, smirking, his fluffy, orange, cat bouncing along behind him.


End file.
